Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma on Sunday said that his government looked forward to working together with Bangladesh in a forward-looking manner to strengthen people-centric cooperation in all domains.
‘So, I think, of course, people-to-people exchanges are a very important part of our bilateral relations,’ he said, noting that they really hoped to move things forward by working together in a positive, constructive and forward-looking manner.
Emerging from his first meeting with the new foreign minister, Khalilur Rahman, and state minister for foreign affairs, Shama Obaed, at the foreign ministry in the capital Dhaka, the Indian envoy told reporters that on February 13, soon after the elections, India’s prime minister Narendra Modi sent a congratulatory message to Tarique Rahman and they also spoke on phone later that day.
‘At today’s [Sunday] meeting with the foreign minister, I reiterated our position that we look forward to engaging with the new government in Bangladesh. I conveyed that we want to strengthen our people-centric cooperation in all domains, working together in a positive, constructive and forward-looking manner, based on mutual interest and mutual benefit,’ he said.
Pranay said that they had already expressed the desire to build on their historic ties with Bangladesh and strengthen their multifaceted bilateral relations.
‘We also underlined our commitment to support a democratic, progressive and inclusive Bangladesh,’ he added.
Meanwhile, Naredra Modi has invited Tarique Rahman and his family to visit India at a mutually convenient time.
‘I take this opportunity to invite you, along with Dr Zubaida Rahman and your daughter Zaima, on a visit to India at a mutually convenient time. A warm welcome awaits you in India,’ said Modi in a letter to Tarique.
Indian Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, who joined the swearing-in ceremony of the new government in Dhaka, handed over the letter to Tarique in a major shift in India’s relations with Bangladesh after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by Tarique had earned a landslide victory and formed the government on February 17.
‘I extend my warmest congratulations to you on the victory of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party at the just concluded parliamentary elections in Bangladesh and on your appointment as the next prime minister of Bangladesh. I wish you every success as you assume the high responsibilities of this office,’ Modi said in the latter.
The high commissioner referred to their recent high-level communications with Bangladesh since the February 12 parliamentary elections.
Since the July mass uprising that ousted the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime on August 5, 2024, a series of incidents had dampened the bilateral relations between the two nations during the tenure of the Professor Muhammad Yunus-led interim government that assumed office after the fall of Hasina.
Hasina fled to India on August 5, 2024, and has been staying there since with New Delhi not responding to Dhaka’s repeated requests for sending Hasina back for facing justice in July atrocities cases.
