Bangladesh on Tuesday described India’s decision to cancel the Europe–Asia Relations programme, scheduled for August 29 and reportedly set to be attended by several Awami League (now under a ban on its activities) leaders, as a “positive, good and expected initiative”.
Bangladesh also said a possible visit by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to India would depend on a conducive environment and the availability of the two prime ministers.
“The incident you described is a positive thing. Good initiative… expected initiative. We will not give space in Dhaka to any terrorist fleeing from India. Similarly, we don’t expect any terrorist fleeing from Bangladesh to get space in Delhi or anywhere in India,” State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia (FCC South Asia), the Hand in Hand Foundation and their organising partners had regretted the cancellation of the programme, according to a media release.
“Due to unexplained interventions by Delhi Police against the programme, the FCC South Asia has been unable to host the scheduled function,” the organisers said.
Asked whether discussions on the proposed visit had stalled and whether the recent incident had revived them, Kobir said, “If we had agreed on a date and it was then held up, I would have said the process had stalled. But no date was agreed upon. Discussions were ongoing.”
Meanwhile, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi said Bangladesh and India need to move forward while keeping in mind the challenges faced by both countries, warning that remaining stuck in the past could affect development and people-to-people ties.
“We have to appreciate Bangladesh's democratic challenges, and Bangladesh also has to appreciate India's challenges. Keeping these challenges in mind, we have to move forward,” he told reporters, stressing the need for both sides to understand and appreciate each other’s democratic challenges.
He also stressed the need for both countries to understand each other’s challenges. “As neighbours, we are equal. Nobody is big, nobody is small,” he added.
The High Commissioner said the past cannot be forgotten, but there is no scope for getting stuck in it.
“If we get stuck in the past, development works will not happen,” he said.
Trivedi made the remarks while speaking to reporters after a courtesy meeting with Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan at the Secretariat. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mir Shahe Alam also attended the meeting.
The High Commissioner also conveyed his greetings on the occasion of the 48th Founding Day of the BNP.
“It’s a Founding Day (of BNP), very important day. I congratulated him, his party and all,” he said.