Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain on Monday said the interim government wants to see strong people-to-people ties with India, suggesting that this was lacking during the previous Sheikh Hasina regime.
“It’s possible to ease public dissatisfaction towards India. I believe we need to take correct bilateral steps to address this,” Hossain told reporters here.
He said that while the ‘golden chapter’ of Bangladesh-India relations was apparent at the governmental level, it has not extended to the general public, the state-owned BSS news agency reported.
HC Pranay Verma called on Home & Agriculture Adviser H.E. Lt Gen (Retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury today. Discussed areas of engagement to advancesecurity cooperation, exchanged views on border management, capacity building, and safety & security of nationals & students in pic.twitter.com/oXLpi7F5MC— India in Bangladesh (@ihcdhaka) September 2, 2024
“We want to see strong people-to-people ties. The public should feel that there is a genuinely good relationship between Bangladesh and India, but unfortunately, this aspect has been lacking,” he said.
He criticised the Indian media for creating exaggerated narratives after the student-people revolution.
On regional cooperation, Hossain said there was a hope that the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) could serve as an alternative to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
However, he pointed out that BIMSTEC cannot become fully effective until peace is restored in Myanmar.
He emphasised that Bangladesh does not currently want to see BIMSTEC as a replacement for SAARC.
Hossain noted that Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus is keen on revitalizing SAARC as a regional forum.
The SAARC has not been very effective since 2016, as its biennial summits have not taken place since the last one in Kathmandu in 2014.
The 2016 SAARC Summit was to be held in Islamabad. But after the terrorist attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18 that year, India expressed its inability to participate in the summit due to “prevailing circumstances”.
The summit was called off after Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan also declined to participate in the Islamabad meet.
The regional grouping comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Envoy Meets Interim Govt Advisers
Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma Monday met the interim government’s Home and Agriculture Adviser Lt Gen (Retd.) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury and discussed areas of engagement to advance security cooperation, exchanged views on border management, capacity building, and safety of Indian nationals in Bangladesh.
During his courtesy meeting with Chowdhury, Verma also announced that Indian visa centres are now issuing a limited number of visas for Bangladeshi nationals, primarily for emergency medical needs and students pursuing studies abroad.
“HC Pranay Verma called on Bangladesh Home & Agriculture Adviser Lt Gen (Retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury today. Discussed areas of engagement to advance India-Bangladesh security cooperation, exchanged views on border management, capacity building, and safety & security of India nationals & students in Bangladesh,” the High Commission of India in Bangladesh said in a post on X.
They also discussed areas of mutual interest in the agriculture sector, including possible collaboration between agricultural research institutions and exchanges in mechanised farming, post-harvest management etc, the mission said in another post.
According to the Daily Star newspaper, the meeting addressed a range of bilateral issues, including police reforms, border security, and the safety of Indian nationals in Bangladesh.
“Our two countries should work together on flood warning and forecasting,” the adviser was quoted as saying in the paper.
Verma assured him of India’s assistance with necessary data and information for flood warning and forecasting, the paper added.
The adviser assured the high commissioner that the Indian nationals residing in Bangladesh would be provided full security. He added that Indian students are welcome to continue their studies in Bangladesh, the paper said.
The interim government headed by 84-year-old Nobel laureate Yunus was installed days after prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India on August 5 following unprecedented anti-government student-led protests over a controversial quota system in government jobs.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
Read More: Bangladesh Urges ‘Correct Steps’ To Ease Prevailing ‘Public Dissatisfaction Towards India’;
