Roundup: India, Bangladesh ink 22 pacts as Modi holds talks with visiting PM Hasina

India and Bangladesh on Saturday inked 22 pacts, including on civil nuclear cooperation and defense as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with visiting Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the iconic Hyderabad House in the heart of the national capital.

Later addressing a joint media meet after all the agreements were signed between the countries, Modi hailed Hasina's visit to India as "another golden era in the friendship between the peoples of our nations" and vowed to fight terror alongside Dhaka.

Modi also announced a new line of concessional credit of 4.5 billion U.S. dollars for the implementation of projects in Bangladesh as well as an additional line of credit of 500 million U.S. dollars to Dhaka for military supplies, saying it will be driven by the requirement of that country.

Vowing to fight terrorism, Modi said that "the spread of radicalization and extremism poses as a grave threat to India and Bangladesh", and expressed admiration for the visiting prime minister's "zero-tolerance" policy towards terrorism.

On ties in various sectors, Modi said: "We want to build cooperation in new areas, especially in some high technology areas, which would include space exploration, civil nuclear energy and other areas."

Modi added "Steps are being taken to put into operation the coastal shipping agreement. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also discussed the need to diversy our commercial arrangement."

On her part, Hasina lauded India as "our most important neighbour". "India has achieved great development in the areas of economy, education, science, technology and innovation. India is our most important neighbour," she said.

Though the much-awaited pact on the Teesta river's water sharing did not take place, Modi said the pact was "important" for India-Bangladesh ties and assured Hasina of India's commitment to the issue. "An early solution can and will be found to the Teesta water sharing issue," he added.

Both the leaders also inaugurated the two rail and a road link between the countries. "Building the ties that bind, one step at a time. The two leaders inaugurate two rails and a road connectivity project via video conferencing," Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted.

Earlier in the day, Hasina, who arrived in India on Friday on a four-day state visit, received a grand welcome from Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan (Indian President's official residence) before she headed to the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat to pay tribute to the Father of Nation.

Later in the day, Hasina will also call on Indian President Pranab Mukherjee and meet opposition Congree party's leader Sonia Gandhi. She will visit Ajmer in the western state of Rajasthan Sunday and will meet Indian business leaders Monday.

The visiting prime minister will also take part in a function at the Manekshaw Center in the national capital to honour members of the Indian Armed Forces who were martyred in Bangladesh's War of Liberation in 1971.

This is Hasina's first visit to India after Modi assumed office in May 2014, following his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party's landslide win in the general elections.

"The visit is expected to further expand the cordial and cooperative relationship between India and Bangladesh and build on the strong ties of friendship and trust between the two leaders," a joint statement issued earlier by the two countries said. Endit