India-funded projects to continue in Bangladesh: Interim govt adviser

DHAKA: A top adviser of the interim government said Tuesday that India-funded projects are "very important" and will continue under the new administration in Bangladesh.

Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed also said that Dhaka looks forward to "enhanced cooperation" with New Delhi during his meeting with Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma here, the state-run BSS news agency reported.

"Already, the projects they (India) have with us are big projects, and we'll continue those, as those are not small projects and we'll take another big project for the benefits of ours...," the report quoted him as saying.

"We'll not stop on whatever we have got, and we'll talk about those projects ...funding of the projects and also their implementation part," he added.

The financial adviser's remarks come amid concerns about the timely implementation of projects funded under India's three lines of credit following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government last month after a mass uprising.

Indian envoy Verma said New Delhi has not stopped any of its line of credit projects to Bangladesh as those are major projects.

"Those projects are going on, and those are basically very big projects and located at different sites. So, the contractors will be coming back to start the projects," he was quoted as saying in the report.

Ahmed thanked the Indian government for their continued cooperation and said, "We're looking forward to future and enhanced cooperation."

Addressing the importance of the Indian-funded projects, he said they were initiated based on Bangladesh’s own needs. “While there have been some disbursement issues, we are in the process of resolving them.”

In the meeting the two sides also discussed ways to enhance the existing bilateral economic cooperation.

Asserting that India is "next door and a big neighbour of Bangladesh", Ahmed said both nations have many areas of economic cooperation and trade.

"We've assured him (Verma) that Bangladesh is a very good place for investment and economic cooperation. They (the Indian side) have taken note and they will continue the cooperation," he said.

Talking about the bilateral trade volume, which tilts in favour of India, the financial adviser expressed optimism that it could be addressed.

Ahmed said the Indian high commissioner assured they would encourage more quality export of Bangladeshi products to India, which should be a win-win situation for both countries, the report said.

The Indian side also offered support in the fields of science and technology, scientific research and laboratory, he added.

Replying to a question on the Indian government's engagement with Bangladesh's interim government, Verma said, "Of course, we're very closely engaging with the government, and my meeting with the adviser is proof of that".

"There were some issues relating to disbursement, and we're sorting those out," he said, adding that there would be some future projects with Indian funding.

Verma said he briefed the adviser about the progress made on some Indian-funded projects, emphasising the commitment to move forward.

He also expressed the Indian side's optimisim to take forward its line of credit projects under its development cooperation.

Bangladesh and India signed the first line of credit agreement involving USD 862 million in August 2010. The second line of credit agreement involving USD 2 billion was signed in March 2016.

The third agreement involving USD 4.5 billion under the system was signed in March 2017.