Dhaka: Emphasising the need to strengthen people-to-people ties with India beyond one-person driven engagement, Bangladesh Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Humaiun Kobir on Monday said Bangladesh wants to develop a new relationship with India, ending Hasina-era type relations with the neighboring country.
According to United News of Bangladesh, Humaiun Kobir stated, “It’s a new relationship between Bangladesh and India. There is nothing like Hasina’s Awami League in Bangladesh now. Hasina is non-existent. She died politically long days ago,” while speaking to reporters after a meeting between Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma.
The meeting takes place just before Foreign Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman’s scheduled visit to New Delhi starting Tuesday, where he is expected to meet Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, and hold talks with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
Adviser Kobir highlighted that sustained openness and candid dialogue between the two sides could help address several longstanding challenges. During the meeting with PM Tarique, Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma reaffirmed India’s intent to work with Bangladesh in a ‘positive, constructive and forward-looking manner’ based on mutual interest and mutual benefit.
The two parties discussed bilateral engagement focusing on people-centric cooperation in various sectors aligned with the national development priorities of both countries, as stated by the High Commission following the meeting.
Discussions included enhancing cooperation in areas such as public health, financial inclusion, women’s empowerment, rural development, bilateral trade and investment, ease of doing business, technology partnerships, and power and energy cooperation. The High Commissioner emphasized that India-Bangladesh cooperation should leverage their geographical proximity into new opportunities by strengthening economic and connectivity linkages, and by enhancing cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
The Foreign Minister is set to depart for New Delhi on Tuesday afternoon before proceeding to Mauritius, with Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Humaiun Kabir accompanying him during the New Delhi leg of the visit.