Northeast Indian states can use Chittagong port: Bangladesh PM

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, during the interaction, said that India's North-Eastern states could access the Chittagong port to increase connectivity between the two countries.

Hasina said that if the connectivity is increased, the Indian North-Eastern states like Assam and Tripura can access the Chittagong seaport.

The Chittagong port, also called the Chhatogram port, is one of the important seaports of Bangladesh, located in the Chittagong hill tracts. Due to the sea port's proximity to North-Eastern Indian states. The port can significantly boost economic activity in the North-East Indian states, providing close access to global shipping lanes.

In 2010, India and Bangladesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to allow for using Chittagong and Mongla Ports in Bangladesh to transport goods to and from India.

In 2018, the Bangladesh Cabinet Ministry approved the proposed agreement with India to allow using both the ports for goods transportation.

Jaishankar called Bangladesh Prime Minister on Thursday during his two-day visit to Bangladesh.

In a Joint Press interaction with the Minister's Bangladeshi counterpart, Jaishankar also announced the resuming of cross-border bus and railway services between both the two countries.

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