Dhaka, Sep 1 – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said Bangladesh will provide 50,000 metric tonnes of fertilizers to Nepal for meeting its demand.“Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli phoned Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina around 5 pm and sought 50,000 mt of fertilizers from Bangladesh,” PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said.
In response, he said, the Bangladesh prime minister agreed to provide the fertilizers to Nepal.
During the 20-minute telephonic conversation, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also assured his Nepalese counterpart of providing rail transit to Nepal.
The Nepalese prime minister expressed gratitude to his Bangladesh counterpart in this regard.
Karim said the two leaders put emphasis on further bolstering bilateral relations and cooperation in different sectors.
They hoped that the preferential trade agreement (PTA) between the two counties would be signed to boost trade and commerce.
Sheikh Hasina congratulated Sharma Oli on successfully combating the novel coronavirus in his country, the press secretary added.
During the conversation, Nepalese Prime Minister Oli extended hearty congratulations to Prime Minister Hasina, the government and the people of Bangladesh on the occasion of the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Enhanced Cooperation
The two prime ministers exchanged views on various matters of common interests, including cooperation in power generation, grid connectivity and power supply from Nepal to Bangladesh, promotion of barrier-free and balanced trade between the two countries, improved transit facility for Nepal through Bangladesh, enhanced connectivity, promotion of tourism, among others.
Prime Minister Oli thanked his Bangladeshi counterpart for providing a new railway route through Rohanpur (Bangladesh) to Singabad (India) railway line, according to Nepalese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The two prime ministers also exchanged experiences on the efforts made by their respective governments to fight against COVID-19 pandemic and agreed to strengthen cooperation to tackle this menace.
Prime Minister Oli appreciated the steps taken by Bangladesh to contain the pandemic and thanked the Government of Bangladesh for extending support to the Nepali citizens during this difficult period.
Prime Minister Hasina commended the efforts of the government of Nepal to effectively contain the spread of the virus in Nepal.
The Prime Minister of Nepal thanked his Bangladesh counterpart for the supply of 5,000 vials of Remdesivir injection and other essential medicines and medical logistics to Nepal.
Oli congratulated Prime Minister Hasina on Bangladesh’s success in becoming a food-surplus country.
While sharing Nepal’s efforts for scaling up agricultural production, both for domestic consumption and export, he stated that Nepal can benefit from Bangladesh’s success story in the field of agriculture.
Recalling the fourth BIMSTEC summit held in Nepal, both the prime ministers shared views on enhancing regional cooperation for economic development and prosperity.
The Prime Minister of Nepal recalled the successful visit of the President of Bangladesh to Nepal last year.
The two prime ministers underlined the importance of exchanging high-level visits to further promote and strengthen mutually beneficial bilateral relations. – UNB
