Dhaka: Bangladesh and India have reached a consensus to contain militancy and terrorism through exchange of authentic information timely which will also help contain rumors and falsehood.
Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu on Wednesday said this while talking to reporters after a meeting with his Indian counterpart M Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi, said a PID handout here. UNB News Agency Reported.
Indian Information and Broadcasting Minister Naidu said information dissemination is critical to counter terrorism which is a common issue plaguing both India and Bangladesh.
“Timely and correct dissemination of information will prevent rumors and falsehood while at the same time, build the spirit of cooperation and understanding between people,” Naidu was quoted as saying in a media release issued by Press Information Bureau (PIB) of India.
Naidu conveyed to his Bangladesh counterpart that Air India Radio (AIR) will launch an exclusive service for Bangladesh and Bengali diaspora titled ‘Akashvani Maitree’ on August 23.
Indian President Pranab Mukherjee will be launching the channel which will act as a bridge of amity between the two countries.
Naidu said the relationship between the two countries would strive to promote the commonality of heritage and culture.
During the discussions, both India and Bangladesh agreed to cooperate with each other on a range of issues.
Both ministers agreed to collaborate to jointly produce a documentary on the 1971 War of Independence of Bangladesh.
Naidu stated that the archival material available with Films Division, DD and other media units would be optimally utilised. This documentary proposed to be produced would commemorate the 50th year of Bangladesh Independence in 2021.
Naidu also agreed to the proposal of Inu to facilitate the production of the Mega Movie by Bangladesh to mark the 100th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 2020.
Both sides also agreed to jointly workout a proposal for a joint AV co-production agreement between the two countries.
It was also agreed to organise Film Festival of India in Bangladesh and a Bangladesh Film Festival in India.
The Bangladesh minister also agreed to the request Naidu to provide the celluloid version of the film Devdas directed by Pramatesh Barua, the Bengali version produced in 1935.
Bangladesh had earlier provided the DVD version of the film to NFAI. Regarding the facilitation of Free Film Trade between the two countries, Naidu mentioned that Bangladesh could consider relaxing the legal provisions which restricted the number of Indian films in that country.
The easing of restrictions would have a positive impact on the local film industry. The minister also offered to train the young filmmakers and entrepreneurs from Bangladesh at the Indian Film and Training Institutes.
He also mentioned that collaborative measures would be initiated between NFDC and Bangladesh Film Development Corporation to promote joint production of films and also between NFAI and Bangladesh Film Archives for digitisation and archiving.
The ministers during their deliberations also agreed to promote capacity building and training workshops for media persons, exchange program for officers associated with Information and Broadcasting and exchange of programmes between DD and its counterpart in Bangladesh.
Inu said information ministries of the two countries will work together to resist distortion of history, falsehood, rumour, militancy, terrorism and communalism through the exchange of authentic information.
The two ministers agreed in principle for signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) by the information ministries of the two countries to enhance the exchange of all sorts of information and broadcasting related communication between India and Bangladesh.
Bangladesh High Commissioner in Delhi Syed Muazzem Ali, joint secretary of Information Ministry Md Nasir Uddin Ahmed and its senior information and public relations officer Mir Akram Uddin Ahmed were, among others, present at the meeting.
Inu is scheduled to meet Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and deliver speeches at Jawharlal Nehru University, Observer Research Foundation, Vivekananda Foundation and India Foundation during his stay in India.
He is expected to return home on August 21.
