State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir on Saturday said Bangladesh wants engagement and a good working relationship with India despite existing challenges, stressing that the door for dialogue will always remain open.
"There might be thousands of problems and challenges with India, but the door of dialogue and discussion will always remain open. And that should be kept," he told reporters, noting that India is a neighbour of Bangladesh.
The State Minister made the remarks during an exchange of views with leaders of the Electronic Media Journalists Association (EMJA) in Sylhet.
Kobir said foreign, economic and security cooperation and policies are intertwined and interrelated for most countries around the world, not just for Bangladesh.
"It cannot be isolated from each other. Particularly, for the foreign policy that we have undertaken, it has to be integrated and it must be complementary to each other. From that point of view, foreign policy is not about only foreign relations. There needs to be a strong area of engagement for economic cooperation," he said.
Talking about the challenges with India, the State Minister said there are, of course, challenges, as "terrorists" who fled the country after killing people in Bangladesh are staying in India.
"If space is given to them (by India), it will go against the sentiments of the people of Bangladesh. It would be pressure to address that. Our foreign policy engagement is based on national interests and driven by people's interests," Kobir said.
The State Minister, who has met Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi twice so far, said India must understand the situation.
"I met him (envoy) twice. He is trying, but he gets stuck somewhere."
Kobir laid emphasis on stopping former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, stressing that it is irrelevant whether she is using private or public platforms in India.
"Providing Hasina space creates a bad precedent," he said.
Regarding Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s possible visit to India, Kobir said the possibility of such a visit before the upcoming UN General Assembly session is very slim.
"When the time is right, the Prime Minister will be visiting India, but the possibility is very slim before the UNGA as the Prime Minister will be attending the UNGA," he said.
The 81st session of the General Assembly will formally open on September 8, with world leaders expected to gather at UN Headquarters in New York later in the month for the annual high-level general debate.
India will soon host the BRICS Summit, and an Indian journalist wanted to know whether Bangladesh had communicated whether Prime Minister Tarique Rahman would participate and, if not, who would represent Bangladesh at the summit.
"On the participation from Bangladesh side, I have no update to share with you," Spokesperson at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal told reporters during a regular briefing in New Delhi on Friday.
Although the date of the Prime Minister’s proposed India visit has not yet been finalised, bilateral discussions on the matter are underway, State Minister Kobir said.
The meeting was arranged after journalists covering the State Minister’s programme on Friday were allegedly harassed.
Television journalists in Sylhet on Friday decided to boycott news coverage of the State Minister and the local BNP after several media workers were allegedly harassed by political activists at the Hazrat Shahjalal Shrine.
Kobir, visiting Sylhet for the first time since taking office as State Minister, offered prayers at the shrine after Jummah prayers.
Responding to various questions, Kobir said the extent of corruption in the energy sector in the past could be understood by looking at the sector’s overall condition.
He said the current government is giving the energy sector the highest priority.
The State Minister also said discussions are underway on the Mecca Pact and that Bangladesh’s joining the agreement would not be unusual.
“Many countries in the world are part of multiple security alliances. Bangladesh will join wherever necessary based on its national interests,” he said.
On the purchase of Boeing aircraft, Kobir said no one was pressuring Bangladesh to buy Boeing planes.
“Bangladesh is buying Boeing aircraft from the United States because there is a demand for them. More aircraft may be purchased if necessary,” he said.