By Zafarul-Islam Khan ,IOL South Asia Correspondent

New Delhi, August 26 (IslamOnline) - India and Bangladesh agreed to cooperate to contain terrorism, India’s external affairs minister said wrapping up his two-day visit to Bangladesh which ended Sunday, August 25.

“The two governments agreed that they will cooperate by joining the international community’s war against global terrorism, and particularly its manifestation in our region,” he said.

It was Sinha’s first visit to Bangladesh after he became external affairs minister in a cabinet reshuffle last month. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition government at the Centre did not have very good relations with Bangladesh since Begum Khaleda Zia became prime minister of that country following general elections last October.

Begum Zia’s predecessor Hasina Wajed was supposed to be very close to India, while Begum Zia is supported by Islamists. However, relations with Bangladesh had begun to sore even while Ms Wajed was still Prime Minister.

The lowest point in their relationship came when Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) men killed 16 Indian Border Security Force (BSF) people in April 2001.

A common complaint heard from India’s smaller neighbors like Nepal and Bangladesh is that India wants to be a hegemony in the area. Dispelling such fears Sinha said, “India is indeed a big country in all aspects compared to Bangladesh, but I can assure you, we will maintain bilateral relations on the basis of sovereign equality”. Sinha categorically said India was not interested in playing a “big brother” role.

Besides terrorism, mutual trade came in for discussion. Bangladesh External Affairs Minister Morshed Khan said the two sides had agreed to revive the ministerial level joint economic commission which had last met in 1997.

Khan said India would give duty-free status to 40 products from Bangladesh to boost mutual trade and try to rectify the balance of trade problems Bangladesh faced.

Sources said considerable time was spent by the two sides on frequent border firing between the border guards of the two sides, India’s BSF and Bangladesh’s BDR. Dozens of Bangladeshi citizens have died in firing from BSF this year, according to Bangladesh officials. “Maximum time (during talks) was devoted to talk on border firing”, Morshed Khan said.

“Sinha assured us that he would take up the issue with India’s border forces so they don’t shoot any more Bangladeshis,” Khan added. On Wednesday, July 24, BSF shot dead a Bangladeshi farmer, setting off a brief gun battle between the two sides. People working in their agricultural fields on both sides of the border provide a sitting target for border troops on both sides.

India also wants an extradition agreement. The two sides agreed not to give asylum to each other’s fugitives from law. India wants Bangladesh to return three Indians thought to be hiding in Bangladesh after committing serious offences in India. Likewise, Bangladesh too wants India to return 23 Bangladeshis accused of having committed serious offences on its territory.