Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh would give 50,000 tonnes of fertilizer to Nepal responding to a call by Nepalese PM K. P. Sharma Oli as the landlocked nation was exposed to a severe lack of the crucial agriculture input.
“The Nepalese premier phoned our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina around 5 pm and sought 50,000 MT fertilizers from Bangladesh,” Sheikh Hasina’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said BSS.
According to Ihsanul Karim, the Bangladesh premier agreed to provide the quantum of the fertilizer which Oli sought.
The PMO spokesman announced the two premiers talks lasted for 20 minutes when Sheikh Hasina also confirmed her counterpart of giving rail transit to Nepal.
“The Nepalese premier expressed gratitude to her Bangladesh counterpart in regard to the transit offer,” Karim said.
The two leaders also put emphasis on further bolstering bilateral relations and cooperation in other sectors as well.
Sheikh Hasina and her counterpart simultaneously expected the two neighbors to ink a bilateral preferential trade agreement (PTA) soon to boost trade and commerce.
The Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina also complimented Sharma Oli for successfully combating the novel coronavirus in Nepal, the press secretary added.
Sharma Oli’s phone call came as reports in Nepalese media announced the country was exposed to severe fertilizer shortage despite its higher demands for the current plantation season.
Experts and officials said the landlocked situation of the country made it highly dependent on agricultural production though it does not have any major domestic fertilizer industry, meaning that imports are the sole source for ensuring fertilizer.
