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Modi to visit Bangladesh this month, will launch more trading points, connectivity projects

BY S. VENKAT NARAYAN,
Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI:
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Dhaka on March 26-27 for the centenary celebrations of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, the father of the nation, the 50th anniversary of the birth of Bangladesh, and five decades of diplomatic ties between India and Bangladesh.
Among the key takeaways from the visit are the launch of more border trading points between the two contiguous neighbours and connectivity projects linking India and Bangladesh.
Ahead of Modi’s visit, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Dhaka last Thursday to firm up the agenda and possible deliverables, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Bangladesh is currently India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia. India’s exports to Bangladesh in FY2018-19 stood at $ 9.21 billion and imports from Bangladesh during the same period were $1.04 billion.
Bangladesh marks Modi’s first visit abroad after a year when the Covid-19 pandemic brought all physical trips and meetings to a halt. This underlines the special place the eastern neighbour occupies in New Delhi’s “neighbourhood first” policy.
Ties with Dhaka have been described by officials as the “vital cog” in the “neighbourhood first” initiative. Dhaka is India’s biggest development partner in South Asia. New Delhi extended three lines of credit worth $8 billion in the past eight years for development of roads, railways, shipping, ports and other infrastructure.
Modi will inaugurate more “border haats” or trading markets. Last week, Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Muhammad Imran visited Assam and Meghalaya. In Meghalaya, he discussed the possibility of opening up new trading points along their common border. There are already four such points each in Meghalaya and Tripura.
News
SF claims thousands of police and military personnel leaving

By Saman Indrajith
Thousands of police and military personnel had left the services recently as they did not want to carry out illegal orders, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka told Parliament yesterday. According to the war-winning army commander 200 policemen have resigned during the past two months and 25,000 soldiers have left the army during the last two years.
“We urged the law enforcement and military officials not to follow illegal orders. We will reinstate them with back pay,” he said.
Fonseka also urged the President and the government MPs not to take people for fools.
“Sri Lanka owes 55 billion dollars to the world. Ranil’s plan is to borrow another seven billion during the next four years. So, in four years we will owe 62 billion to the world.
Ranil and his ministers ask us what the alternative to borrowing is. These are the people who destroyed the economy and society. They must leave. Then, we will find an alternative and develop the country,” he said, adding that the IMF loans had made crises in other nations worse.
“Ranil says that by 2025, we will have a budget surplus as in Japan, Germany and South Korea. These countries are economic power houses, and this comparison is ludicrous.”
News
CEB hit by exodus of technical staff

By Shiran Ranasinghe
At least five technical personnel of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) resigned daily for overseas employment, a senior CEB official said.They included electrical engineers, electricians and foremen, he added.
“Most of them are quitting due to the economic crisis while others are simply disillusioned. Trained and experienced technical staff are in high demand in many countries,” he said.
CEB United Trade Union Alliance President Ranjan Jayalal said that the CEB had lost about 2,000 employees in recent times due to the above reasons.
“We had about 24,000 such personnel a few months ago. Now the number has come down to 22,000. A number of people had to retire on 31 December, 2022.
News
Sajith questions sudden decision to charge Rs. 225,000 from students following NDES

By Saman Indrajith
The government had decided to charge Rs 225,000 from those enrolling at the Institute of Engineering Technology, Katunayake under the National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA), Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said yesterday in Parliament.
Premadasa said that the institute awards the National Diploma in Engineering Sciences (NDES) and no fee was charged from students until 2023.The IET awards the National Diploma in Engineering Sciences under the three major fields of civil, electrical and mechanical engineering, and eight sub-fields.
“This is an institute that has created over ten thousand tier two engineers. NDES is a four year programme,” he said.
The opposition leader said that the sudden decision to charge 225,000 rupees from students at a time when the average Sri Lankan family is facing significant economic challenges is unfair.
“This institute offered free tuition. We should continue this tradition. A large number of engineers are leaving the country and we need to ensure that we have a continuous supply of engineers to ensure we can maintain our essential technical services,” he said.
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