Four northeastern states -- Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram -- share a 1,879 km border with Bangladesh.

'To increase the trade and business between Bangladesh and northeast India, my government sincerely wants rail, road, waterways and telecommunication links between the two sides,' said the minister.

Bangladesh's Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) vice-chairman Mohammad Shahab Ullah said: 'Bangladesh's trade gap with India has increased to $2,566.42 million in 2008-09.'

India has been issuing a large number of visas to Bangladeshi businessmen.

'India issues half-a-million visas annually to Bangladeshis and this is the highest number of visas given to Bangladeshis by any country and we are also issuing multiple visas to traders and businessmen of that country,' said Indian High Commissioner in Bangladesh Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, who was also present at the function.

In 2006, 2007 and 2008, the total number of visas issued by India to Bangladeshis was respectively 472,644, 481,064 and 523,322.