Bangladesh’s former foreign secretary Shahidul Haque has said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s India visit yields a positive outcome as she shares an excellent relationship with Indian Premier Narendra Modi that would help resolve many problems.
PM’s India visit yields a positive outcome: “I am very much optimistic that the upcoming visit of PM Sheikh Hasina to India would be a successful one despite some limitations as the two leaders are very firm, warm and have a good relationship,” he said.
Delivering a lecture organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) on Bangladesh’s Foreign Policy here on Tuesday afternoon, he said that in the past the two leaders had solved many issues in a minute which the bureaucrats and foreign office of both countries could not.
India’s former foreign secretary and G20 Chief Coordinator Harsh Vardhan Shringla chaired the lecture session when Director General of ICWA Ambassador Vijay Thakur Singh gave opening remarks on the occasion.
Haque, who is now holding ICCR Bangabandhu Chair at Delhi University, said the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and the issue of the Kushiyara river that is remained pending for quite a long time will go on full force during the discussion apart from trade and investment, border mobility and connectivity.
He opined that Bangladesh and India should feature out water resources development apart from water distribution.
Regarding Bangladesh-India relations, he said relations between the two countries are very critical in Bangladesh’s foreign policy.
Bangladesh’s relationship with India is very special and eternal and it would be further strengthened in more areas for the benefit of the two country’s people, he added.
He said the relationship between the two countries is eternal as it is based on history, culture, connectivity as well as sacrifice.
Taking part in the discussion, Shringla, the former ambassador of India to Bangladesh, said the current era of Bangladesh-India ties is referred to as ‘Sonali Adhyay’- golden chapter.
He said the relations got momentum during the last 10 years when many developments have happened.
In this context, he referred to the visit of three important dignitaries from India- President, PM and External Affairs Minister- to Bangladesh in a single year which, he said, reflects the closeness of ties between the two countries.
He said in 2008, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after assuming office announced her zero-tolerance policy on terrorism and violent extremism that sending signalled that both countries need peace and stability.
He said that India’s decision to provide duty-free access to Bangladeshi products to India and for giving over 10 billion dollars of soft concessional credit to Bangladesh paved the way to create trust and understanding between the two countries.
After the CEPA is finally signed, and it is a work in progress currently, Bangladesh’s gross domestic product or GDP could go up by nearly 1.5 per cent and India will also greatly benefit from the move, he said.
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