United News of Bangladesh

Amid increased engagement from both sides to retune bilateral relations, Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman and his Indian counterpart Dr S. Jaishankar are set to meet in New Delhi next week, a move that could usher in a new phase of cooperation on a range of issues important to both Dhaka and Delhi and lend genuine momentum to the relationship, officials said. This will mark the first high-level visit to India since the BNP government, led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, assumed office, following a period of significant strain in bilateral relations. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is yet to make any official announcement regarding the planned brief visit. “The meeting between the two foreign ministers will be held in New Delhi on April 8,” a senior official told UNB, without elaborating further on his arrival and departure information.  The Indian side usually does not announce incoming visits but officially announces outgoing visits.   Bangladesh and India share deep-rooted bonds of history, language, culture, and multitude of other commonalities, said an official, noting that in any bilateral meeting all issues of mutual interest come up for discussion.  The two Foreign Ministers are likely to discuss cooperation in the areas of energy, water sharing, border management, visa, people-to-people ties, he said adding that a future visit of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to India may also come up for discussion at the meeting. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already invited Prime Minister Tarique, his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman, their daughter Barrister Zaima Rahman to pay a visit to India at a 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,” Modi said in his letter handed over to PM Tarique by Speaker of the Indian Lok Sabha Om Birla who represented the government of India at the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected government of Bangladesh. Bangladesh-US relationship matters more than ever: Paul Kapur Prime Minister Modi said he looks forward to working closely with Prime Minister Tarique to strengthen their multifaceted bilateral relations, enhance regional cooperation, and advance their common goals in wide-ranging areas of connectivity, trade, technology, education, skill development, energy, healthcare, as well as cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Asked whether the Prime Minister would consider India for his first bilateral visit, a diplomatic source told UNB that Bangladesh would take a decision “creatively” on the matter. Water Sharing Issues The subject of water is widely seen as a sensitive issue and Bangladesh always keeps talking about its long pending request for concluding the agreement on the sharing of the waters of the Teesta River, the draft of which was finalised in 2011. The two countries share 54 common rivers, including the Teesta. In India’s federal scheme of things, nothing is done without consultations with the State Government and any agreement that they conclude will have to be acceptable to the State Government of India; at the same time, it would also have to be acceptable to Bangladesh, officials said. The Bangladesh-India Ganga/Ganges Water Treaty was signed on December 12, 1996 and is expiring in December this year. Dhaka, Delhi discuss defence cooperation As discussions for its renewal are yet to commence between the two countries, officials said this might be one of the issues to be discussed this time. In July 2024, the governments of Bangladesh and India had decided to begin discussions on renewal of the Ganga Water Treaty. The discussions are yet to commence in this regard and no fresh agreement has been ratified between the two countries. The Indian side had offered to renew it in 2024 but the interim government did not pursue it at that time, a diplomatic source in New Delhi told UNB.  Inputs on drinking water and industrial water requirements have also been received from all stakeholders including from the government of West Bengal, which have been taken into account while formulating the Indian government’s views. Visa Issues Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma, in his recent meetings with the Ministers in Dhaka, explored new areas for future collaboration in people-centric domains aligned with the respective developmental priorities of the two countries based on mutual interest and mutual benefit. Bangladesh intensifies energy diplomacy with US, Russia amid diversification push The two sides also discussed various aspects of Bangladesh-India economic cooperation, including ways to strengthen transport, energy and digital connectivity between the two countries. At the foreign minister–level meeting, the Bangladesh side is expected to raise the visa issue as tourist visas for Bangladeshis have remained suspended since July 2024 on security grounds. Indian visa centres in Bangladesh are still understaffed, suggesting that a full resumption of services may take time, a diplomatic source said, adding that the restart will be announced once finalised. India thinks the two countries can truly become catalysts for each other's sustainable growth, work for each other's security and enable mutual prosperity as two fast-growing economies and aspiring societies. Bangladesh and India on Thursday discussed ways to enhance bilateral defence cooperation, including joint training initiatives. The issues were discussed when Bangladesh High Commissioner to India M Riaz Hamidullah met Indian Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi at the South Block. They also explored opportunities for deeper collaboration aimed at promoting regional peace and security. The envoy said he was pleased to meet General Upendra Dwivedi and reflect on Bangladesh-India ties, including defence cooperation.

Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Saturday (January 20, 2024) said Bangladesh-India relations are growing from strength to strength. "Look forward to receiving him (Dr Hasan Mahmud) in Delhi soon," he said as he met his Bangladesh counterpart Dr Hasan Mahmud on the sidelines of the 19th NAM Summit. Jaishankar said he is glad to meet with his new Bangladesh counterpart, Hasan Mahmud in Kampala, Uganda. "Congratulated him on his appointment and wished him all success," said the Indian External Affairs Minister. Both the ministers discussed various issues of mutual interests and ways to carry forward the existing excellent bilateral relations between the two countries, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They also discussed the upcoming visit of Bangladesh Foreign Minister to New Delhi. Hasan Mahmud led the Bangladesh delegation to the 19th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) held on January 19-20. He will also lead the third South Summit of the G77 and China scheduled to be held on January 21-22. Read more: Every country should take its responsibilities towards refugees very seriously: David Cameron Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, Bangladesh Permanent Representative to the UN Muhammad A Muhith and Bangladesh High Commissioner to Kenya and Uganda, among others, are accompanying the Foreign Minister. Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud is scheduled to leave for New Delhi, India on February 7 – the first bilateral visit by the minister after his appointment – to further strengthen Bangladesh-India relations. “It’s likely to be a three-day visit,” he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on January 18, noting that the agenda of the visit is yet to be finalised. The Foreign Minister said he will be visiting the country at the invitation of Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar. Asked whether he will have a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the visit, Mahmud said, “It is too early to say.” Jaishankar, earlier, invited his Bangladesh counterpart Dr Hasan Mahmud to visit New Delhi at a mutually convenient time. Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma extended the invitation on behalf of the Indian External Affairs Minister on Monday. The Foreign Minister accepted the invitation and told him that he would visit Delhi soon. Read more: FM Hasan meets his Palestinian counterpart

- Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s participation at the G20 Summit in New Delhi will add yet another feather to the ‘Golden Chapter’ in Dhaka-Delhi ties. "We look forward to working together with G20 partners to find multi-dimensional solutions to the multiple crises plaguing our world," he said. The Foreign Minister was speaking as the chief guest at the opening session of a discussion titled “G20 Summit: Dhaka to New Delhi”, at Foreign Service Academy. Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma, Ambassador Mohammad Ziauddin, who is discharging his responsibilities as the Bangladesh Sherpa for G20, and President of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry and G20 Employer Advocate Selima Ahmad, MP spoke at the opening session. The recognition by G20 — under the Indian Presidency — that the status quo is no longer sustainable for multilateralism to function is a major turn-around, Momen said. The Foreign Minister hoped that Bangladesh can make visible and meaningful contributions to the G20 processes through multi-stakeholder participation. The Prime Minister has been invited to the Summit to be held in New Delhi on September 9-10, and she guided the nature and level of engagements with the different G20 processes. “We thank them as they have honored us. We are among the nine countries which are invited. We feel very honored,” Foreign Minister Momen told reporters at a media briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Read more: Bangladesh's prosperity under Sheikh Hasina's leadership highly commendable: US Congressman Robert Pittenger

Highlighting the growing Dhaka-Delhi ties, Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Sunday said how India and its people had supported Bangladesh during the 1971 Liberation War is written in blood. While launching the Bangladesh Youth Delegation 2022 programme with Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Kumar Doraiswami at the high commission in Dhaka, Hasan said the relations between the two countries reached new heights under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. The information minister emphasised strengthening people-to-people relations and hoped that such a programme will play an important role. Doraiswami said the youth delegation programme will help the young people know each other and take the relationship forward to the next generation. Also read: India resumes Bangladesh Youth Delegation programme MAY 15, 2022 The programme this time will be more inclusive and it is their best effort to reach out to the young people across Bangladesh and motivate them to become ambassadors of Bangladesh and ambassadors of the two countries' friendship, he added.

Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Kumar Doraiswami has said trade will be potentially a key driver of Bangladesh-India friendship in the future with focus on value addition to products but the environment will remain an important issue to look at.   “We should look at trade and a whole new framework. I believe trade will be potentially a key driver of our friendship in the future,” he said, adding that the two countries need to be futuristic about how to deal with the next generation of issues. High Commissioner Doraiswami made the remarks while delivering a keynote speech at a symposium titled ‘Bangladesh-India Relations: Prognosis for the Future’ which premiered on Thursday night on Facebook. An array of experts from Bangladesh and India – former Ambassador Tariq A. Karim, Director, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore Prof C. Raja Mohan, Dhaka University Prof Imtiaz Ahmed, former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS) President Maj Gen (Retd) A. N. M. Muniruzzaman, CPD Executive Director Dr Fahmida Khatun, Brig. Gen.(Retd.) Shahedul Anam Khan and former Indian Foreign Secretary Krishnan Srinivasan - were brought together for the online symposium to assess the state of relations between the two countries and identify the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the effort to take it forward. Renowned scholar-diplomat and adviser on foreign affairs to the last caretaker government Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury chaired the event hosted by the Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Cosmos Group. Chairman of Cosmos Foundation Enayetullah Khan delivered the opening remarks at the event. For future trade, High Commissioner Doraiswami laid emphasis on some areas in which Bangladesh could provide India a key base for value addition, including to food production and RMG and textile.

Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar concluded his day-long visit here on Thursday night reaffirming the robust Bangladesh-India partnership.

India has said it is committed to taking forward the strong relations with Bangladesh in the next 50 years and beyond focusing on mutual benefits and expanding it to all the sectors, noting that India never shows any ‘big-brother’ attitude towards Bangladesh.