Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (March 19, 2023) said that India can use ports in Chattogram and Sylhet if they want. The Prime Minister said this while Member of the Governing Council of India Foundation, Ram Madhav, called on her at her official residence Ganabhaban. PM’s Deputy Press Secretary KM Shakhawat Moon briefed reporters after the meeting. Sheikh Hasina said that the government puts emphasis on regional connectivity which will result in better people-to-people ties. Also read: Teen gangs must be stopped: PM The PM conveyed her greetings to the Indian Prime Minister during her meeting with Ram Madhav. The member of the Governing Council of India Foundation highly appreciated the socioeconomic advancement of Bangladesh under the leadership of PM Sheikh Hasina. He said that Bangladesh and India have excellent friendship as neighbouring countries and hoped that the relation will continue in the coming days. Ambassador at Large M Ziauddin, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam and Principal Secretary M Tofazzel Hossain Miah were present during the event. Read More: Be vigilant against food hoarding, black-marketing: PM

Describing Singapore as a "connectivity hub" for distribution of services as well as trade, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Wednesday shared the aspirations of Bangladesh to emerge as a facilitator of regional connectivity for the land locked countries and regions of South Asia.  Highlighting the need for more investment in infrastructure development, including sea ports and air ports, he sought more Singaporean investments to facilitate Bangladesh’s transition as a regional connectivity and manufacturing hub.  Minister of Transportation and Minister in Charge of Trade Relations of Singapore S Iswaran appreciated hardworking Bangladeshi workers and their contribution to their construction and other sectors. Read more: COP27: Momen thanks Egypt for focusing on "loss and damage" issue During his bilateral meeting with the Singaporean Minister, State Minister Alam said Singapore could consider intake of more skilled workers from Bangladesh especially in their health and other service sectors.  Both sides discussed how demographic dividends could be reaped with the use of advanced technology and digitization. Alam also flagged the high agricultural productivity in Bangladesh and the prospects of agro-based industries in the country, with special emphasis on the burgeoning middle-class consumers enjoying increasingly higher purchasing capacity. Read more: Dhaka, Tokyo relations to be strengthened through PM-level talks: Shahriar Alam The Singaporean Minister applauded sustained economic growth of Bangladesh under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and stressed the importance of further deepening and widening the economic relations between the two countries.  He shared Singaporean’s keenness on working in the areas of infrastructure development, energy sector, data mining and various high skilled areas such as digital connectivity and services, technology transfer for further enhancement of bilateral relations. Singapore is keen to explore the many possibilities that exist in its bilateral relations with Bangladesh and looks forward to harnessing the potentials to raise it to the next level. 

Economic Affairs Adviser to the Honorable Prime Minister Dr Mashiur Rahman on Monday said centralisation approach is a constraint for CMSMEs development in Bangladesh and emphasised the importance of regional connectivity towards an inclusive, efficient and balanced development of the country.

Considering its strategic interests, Bangladesh wants to join a road belt with India, Myanmar and Thailand as the two countries set a “very positive tone” during the virtual Summit to broaden the bilateral relations and explore regional connectivity in an effective way.