Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina held bilateral talks on September 8 and the two countries also inked three memorandum of understanding (MoUs), including one on cooperation in Digital Payment mechanisms.

The meeting between Modi and Hasina at the Indian leader’s official residence lasted almost an hour and discussions focused on a range of regional issues, including the maintenance of stability in South Asia, and ways to bolster cooperation in areas such as security, trade and energy, people familiar with the matter said.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs' official release, "The MoU on cooperation in Digital Payment mechanism was signed between National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Bangladesh Bank."

The second MoU focuses on the renewal of the Cultural Exchange Program (CEP) between India and Bangladesh for 2023-2025 and the third MoU was inked between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC).

According to the MEA's official statement, PM Modi and Sheik Hasina are eager to begin talks on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which will encompass trade in products and services as well as safeguarding and boosting investment. According to Asian News International, the two leaders discussed the full spectrum of bilateral cooperation, including political and security cooperation, border management, trade and connectivity, water resources, power and energy, development cooperation, and cultural and people-to-people links.

The leaders welcomed the operationalization of an agreement on the use of the Chattogram and Mongla ports in Bangladesh for shipping goods to India’s northeastern states, the commissioning of the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline, and the operationalization of settlement of bilateral trade in Indian rupees.

The two leaders looked forward to the joint inauguration of three development projects – the Agartala-Akhaura and Khulna-Mongla rail links and the second unit of the Maitri Power Plant.

Modi extended gratitude to Bangladesh for taking on the responsibility of housing more than a million refugees from Myanmar's Rakhine state and conveyed India's enthusiastic support for solutions that would enable their safe and sustainable repatriation.

Following the meeting, Bangladesh's foreign minister, AK Abdul Momen, stated that both parties shared the same views on preserving regional stability. Speaking in Bengali, he declared that "regional peace and stability are important for both countries and for South Asia, and India is on the same page with us."

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