Extending the biggest ever credit line to any country till date, India has signed a landmark agreement with Bangladesh to extend its line of credit (LOC) to $2 billion. Announcing the development, India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said: “The credit line agreement for the $2 billion was signed in Dhaka on March 9, 2016 by Chairman and Managing Director of EXIM Bank of India and the Secretary, Economic Relations Department, Ministry of Finance of Bangladesh. The signing of this agreement paves the way for initiation of projects in various identified sectors.”
Speaking about the initial line of credit of $1 billion extended to Bangladesh in 2010, an Indian High Commission statement from Dhaka said: “All the 15 projects under the first LOC have received financial concurrence of EXIM Bank of India. Seven of the total 15 projects have been completed and the rest are at various stages of implementation.” Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka in June 2015, the relation between the two countries has been on a positive trajectory. India’s line of credit also shows the global role it is playing in providing development assistance to other developing countries.
Social Sector
The line of credit provided by India to Bangladesh is expected to be used in social sector as well. The LOC will be used for the establishment of medical colleges and hospitals. It will also be used for education under which there will be modernisation of two teacher training institutes and vocational training involving modernisation of 49 polytechnic institutes.
Implementation of projects
India and Bangladesh are working towards supply of high-speed diesel. “The Numaligarh Refinery Ltd and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation are working on details for the envisaged project of supply of high-speed diesel from Numaligarh to Parbatipur, Bangladesh for a period of 20 years under a JV project between the NRL and the BPC. The product will be transported through a pipeline of approximately 135 kms of which 130 kms will be in Bangladesh and 5 kms in India,” Mr Swarup said.
There would be an initial consignment of 2200 tonnes of diesel that will be transported from Siliguri to Parbatipur by 50 wagons of Indian railways as a goodwill gesture between the two countries.
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