Dhaka: State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir today announced that Bangladesh is seeking to 'reset' its relationship with India, focusing on building a constructive bilateral partnership through direct engagement between the two neighboring countries. Kobir emphasized the importance of moving towards a new relationship through bilateral discussions rather than multilateral forums.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Kobir expressed the need for Bangladesh to move beyond what he termed an excessive preoccupation with India, advocating for relations with New Delhi to be based on mutual interests, similar to Bangladesh's approach to other countries. He stated, "We have to get out of the India fascination. India is just another country, and Bangladesh wants good bilateral relations with it."
Reflecting on the past 15 years of what he described as an uncomfortable relationship under an "authoritarian, corrupt and exploitative" regime, Kobir indicated that Dhaka now seeks to open a new chapter in its bilateral ties with India. He clarified that his remarks about bilateral and multilateral engagements were specific to India, emphasizing the desire to establish a strong bilateral working relationship.
Kobir highlighted that when Bangladesh seeks to rebuild or strengthen relations with a country, initial engagements should ideally occur through dedicated bilateral visits rather than meetings on the sidelines of multilateral forums. He added that this approach was specific to India and did not imply that Bangladesh would avoid meetings with other countries during multilateral events.
The state minister clarified that Bangladesh would continue to hold meetings with other countries on the sidelines of regional and international forums as needed. In response to inquiries about recent incidents along the Bangladesh-India border, Kobir assured that such issues would be resolved through established diplomatic channels, adhering to international law and existing border protocols and bilateral agreements.
Addressing concerns about the reported review of 101 memorandums of understanding (MoUs), Kobir mentioned that these agreements are currently being scrutinized and reviewed through the parliamentary process.