"India will set up new land ports and renovate the existing ones at seven points along the Indo-Bangla border to facilitate export and import," Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam told reporters after meeting the envoy at his office in the secretariat.

He said India wants Bangladesh to take similar measures, otherwise, they [India] think, their initiatives would fall through.

"He has also proposed talks to know Bangladesh's stance on the matter," said the finance adviser.

Indian High Commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty said that his country would renovate the land ports including Petrapole, Hili and Changrabandha, he added.

"He has requested us to begin the work of Akhaura-Agartala rail link and construct a bridge over the Feni river in the interest of enhanced bilateral trade," Mirza Aziz said.

"India has assured us of providing $150 million for setting up a rail link between Akhaura and Agartala," he said.

Chakravarty also called for steps to lift a ban on the import of poultry from his country, saying that there is no avian influenza virus there.

Asked about reports that Bangladesh would import electricity from his country, the Indian high commissioner told reporters that he did not know about the matter.

"We haven't got any such proposal yet. All I know is it's a proposal of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). However, I can say that Bangladesh will face a competitive market in purchasing electricity from India," he observed.

"Ours is not a country where you'll get surplus electricity. We too have deficiency in power as many of our states need more for various purposes," he added.

Chakravarty said railroads and waterways should be improved for more bilateral trades between the countries.

Asked about the Indian envoy's views on the prospective power import from India, Mirza Aziz said they did not discuss the issue. He, however, said it is a proposal of the ADB and is now at the elementary stage.