World Bulletin / News Desk

India has announced plans to ease visa restrictions for Bangladeshis after Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj paid a visit tı Bangladeshi counterpart AH Mahmood Ali in Dhaka earlier this week.

Bangladeshis above 65 years and children below the age of 13 will be eligible for multiple-entry tourist visas for five years on arrival, the English-language channel NDTV reported.

Water-sharing and negotiations about border sharing issues were high on the agenda as Bangladesh pressed for the signing an agreement regarding the river Teesta, which runs through both India and Bangladesh.

Swaraj also Bangladesh's President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who whom she extended India's new Prime Minister Narendra Modi's invitation to visit India for bilateral talks.

Hasina's Press Secretary AKM Shamim Chowdhury said that the Indian foreign minister told Hasina that the LBA Bill has already been placed in the Lok Sabha (lower House) and it is under active consideration of her government, The Bangladesh Today reported.

Hasina also sought easy visa procedures for the Bangladeshis aged over 65 and the students below 18 years to enable more cross-border trade along the 1,880km divide.