Dhaka, Jul 18 (IANS): In the first-ever movement of its kind, a cargo ship carrying 1,000 tonnes of stones from Bhutan has arrived in Bangladesh via India.

At a ceremony held at Narayanganj on the outskirts of Dhaka on Thursday, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das, Ambassador of Bhutan to Bangladesh Sonam T. Rabgye along with Vice Chairman of Bangladeshi leading business conglomerate Bashundhara Group Safwan Sobhan received the first-ever consignment through the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route.

The ship, MV AAI of the Inland Waterways Authority of India, was digitally flagged off by Indian Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya on July 12, said the Indian High Commission in Dhaka in a statement cited by Xinhua news agency.

The ship sailed from Dhubri in Assam and travelled to Narayanganj in Bangladesh over the Brahmaputra River. Dhubri was declared a port of call in October 2018, the report said.

This was the first time an Indian waterway is being used as a channel for transport of cargo between the two countries.