A delegation of trainee Bangladesh Foreign Service officers on Sunday called on Assam governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi, who called for “greater emphasis” on student exchange facilitation programmes and cultural exchanges between Assam and the neighbouring country.

Asserting India’s “deep-rooted” ties with neighbouring Bangladesh, Mukhi said medical colleges, cancer care centres, universities, IIT, IIIT, IIM and other centres for excellence in the Northeast “can contribute in expanding bilateral ties” with Bangladesh.

The 17-member delegation from the Dhaka-based academy was accompanied by assistant high commissioner of Bangladesh Dr Shah Mohammad Tanvir Monsur for the interaction lasting for over an hour at the Raj Bhavan here.

During the interaction, he said Assam and Bangladesh were “working for mutual interest” by strengthening trade, water resources and connectivity which got disrupted owing to the Partition in 1947.

“After the division of the country, total restriction was imposed because of which areas, particularly contiguous to the border of both India and Bangladesh, could not develop. Trade and commerce did not develop because of the restrictions. However, things have changed and for almost a decade the northeast has been given top priority by the Government of India to enhance trade ties with Bangladesh through this region,” Mukhi said during his interaction with the trainee officers.

During her recent four-day visit to India, Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina had invited the chief ministers of the seven Northeast states and Union minister for development of the North East Region (DoNER) G. Kishan Reddy, the Union minister for development of the North East Region (DoNER) to Dhaka to discuss how the neighbouring country could facilitate the economic development of the northeast

Four northeastern states including Assam (267km), Tripura (856 km), Mizoram (318 km) and Meghalaya (443 km) share border with Bangladesh. There have been efforts from both sides to ensure smooth connectivity to ferry goods through Bangladesh to Northeast from mainland India as it will save both time and money.