"We did not allow transit to India, rather renewed the agreement for transporting Indian goods through river routes," said Foreign Secretary Hemayetuddin responding to a question at a press conference in Dhaka.

On a question about the revised trade agreement signed during the visit, the foreign secretary said this was also nothing new as the accord has been effective since 1972.

The visit is a turning point for strengthening bilateral relations and restoring confidence, Hemayetuddin said briefing newsmen about the outcome of the visit by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia to New Delhi on March 20-22.

The prime minister returned home around 12:15am yesterday ending the three-day visit.

"I think the visit was extremely good as we got commitment from all sections of the Indian political leaders to strengthen bilateral ties," he added.

Hemayetuddin claimed that the Indian media also gave wide coverage to the visit and appreciated Dhaka's measures taken against militancy.

The foreign secretary said the two prime ministers discussed all the bilateral issues freely and frankly during the visit. Admitting that nothing specific came out of the visit, he said this type of summit level discussions only give policy directions.

On a question of security, he said both sides expressed concerns which will be reduced through discussions. A home secretary level meeting will be held next month that will discuss the issue in detail, Hemayetuddin told the press conference.

The prevailing tension along the border and repeated exchange of fire between the border forces of Bangladesh and India will also come up during the meeting, he said.

About the huge trade gap in favour of India, the foreign secretary said the Indian leaders recognised the issue and emphasised reducing the gap by any means.

The next Joint Economic Commission meeting will discuss the ways and means for reducing the trade gap between the two countries, Hemayetuddin added.

The commerce ministers of both the countries have been asked to take up the issue seriously, he said. "They (Indians) did not hide that the huge trade gap does not serve their interest. So they underscored the need for evolving a mechanism for reducing the gap."

The foreign secretary also said assurances were also given for removing tariff and non-tariff barriers to Bangladeshi goods entering the Indian market and not taking any steps to divert waters from common rivers which might create negative impact on the ecology of Bangladesh.

In a joint statement released after the visit, Khaleda and her Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh had reaffirmed their commitment to work closely together to find mutually satisfactory solutions to the security, trade and water sharing issues.

They agreed that meetings of the bilateral institutional mechanism, such as the Joint Economic Commission, Joint Boundary Working Groups, Joint Rivers Commission and the home secretary level talks, will be held more frequently and their outcomes will be monitored by the political leaderships on a continuous basis, the statement says.