Bangladesh has signed an agreement with India to officially join the latter's initiative of South Asia Satellite.

Shahjahan Mahmood, Chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and Harsh Vardhan Shringla, High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh signed the agreement on behalf of Bangladesh and India respectively here in Dhaka on Thursday.

In a press release, the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said Bangladesh has now officially agreed to join Indian government initiative of 'South Asia Satellite'. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is going to launch a class communication satellite of 2 tons with 12 Ku band transponders (36 Mhz each) using ISRO's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV Mk-II) to serve the south Asia region.

Cooperation in fields like tele-education, tele-medicine and inter-government networks, emergency communication for disaster situation, television broadcast and DTH television services will be included under the satellite system.

The countries of South Asia except Pakistan will be part of the project that will bind the region in "a cooperative and collaborative effort for the benefit of the people this region". Earlier in the 2014 SAARC Summit Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the launching of a new satellite for SAARC countries.

Meanwhile, the Indian high commissioner said the aim of launching the satellite is to share the Indian expertise and technology for the development of the region. He also said it is a reflection of India's commitment to the development of the region.

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