India and Bangladesh have begun cooperation in the power sector in a bigway with the launching two projects – a 500 MW grid and 1320 megawatt Maitri MW Thermal station. The tranmission line of India-Bangladesh Grid Inter-connection at Bheramara in Bangladesh was commissioned this morning. This help supply of 500 MW of power from India to Bangladesh. It was jointly launched by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina through video-conferencing from New Delhi.

Describing it as a mile stone in bilateral cooperation Dr.Manmohan Singh said the two countries have embarked on a new partnership for prosperity between them. The Prime Minister also assured Bangladesh that India will remain a steadfast and long-term partner in the development efforts. He said, the transmission line in High Voltage Direct Current, HVDC, in Bheramara will provide a safe and reliable interconnection of power grids of the two countries.

Observing that the destinies of India and Bangladesh are ” inter-linked”, he said the initiatives undertaken today will strengthen the bonds of friendship between India and Bangladesh and add a rich new dimension to the bilateral relations.

Speaking on the ocassion, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the historic event has taken India Bangladesh relations to a greater height. She said the 500 MW of power, which will become available to Bangladesh in November this year, will substantially help to bridge the power dificit in Bangladesh.

Both the Prime Ministers also jointly laid the foundation stone for the Maitri Thermal Power Project. It is a joint venture of India’s NTPC and Bangladesh Power Development Board developed by Bangladesh-India friendship power company.