State minister for foreign affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Tuesday said that Bangladesh-India friendship has “passed the test of time through mutual respect and understanding of each other’s perspectives, concerns and priorities”.
“The relationship has its genesis in our War of Liberation in 1971,” he said on Tuesday while speaking at a webinar on ‘Bangladesh-India Relations: New Dimensions and Opportunities’ organised by a New Delhi-based think tank Asian Confluence, ahead of the virtual summit between the two Prime Ministers - Sheikh Hasina and Narendra Modi - on December 17.
Referring to the cooperation during the ongoing pandemic, he said: “We take pride in declaring that, whatever is the backdrop or context, Bangladesh-India relations have been tested time and again and we have successfully been able to maintain a traditionally stable relationship between our two countries.”
He, however, said that there is always ‘scope’ to broaden the partnership.
“What is needed is the positive mindset of our peoples towards relations. Equally, we need to understand each other’s concerns, risks and vulnerabilities as well as opportunities,” he said.
“As the closest neighbours, Bangladesh and India will continue to work together to establish a secure South Asia for the benefit of all people.”
“We live in an increasingly complex and uncertain world, where pillars and bases of bilateral relations may shift due to priorities set by different countries and realities prevailing across the globe.
“For instance, profound geo-political transformations have swept our societies and economies challenging the post World War-international order.
“Experts and political analysts agree that the pace of technological change and uneven growth rates and inequalities in the international system have made all systems unstable and to some extent unpredictable.
“On top of that, this year, we have witnessed an unprecedented catastrophe across the world and realised that even health care can determine the nature of global and bilateral cooperation.
“Yes! Covid-19 has once again taught us that without sympathy and mutual cooperation human race is prone to vulnerability and extinction,” the state minister said.
He recalled Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and said he maintained “excellent relations” with the Indian leadership.
“We recall with deep gratitude the contribution of the government of India for standing firmly by us in our most difficult time,” he said as India, during the liberation war in 1971, wholeheartedly supported Bangladesh.
Many valiant Indian soldiers laid down their lives for the cause of Bangladesh’s Liberation.
“They are Bangladesh’s friends forever. We did not forget their sacrifices. Our Prime Minister took the initiative to honour them by conferring “Liberation War” and “Friends of Bangladesh” award,” the state minister recalled.
“Our shared history, geography, culture, values and most importantly, development journey has given us a unique confidence to forge partnership not only in the bilateral front but rather on a wide range of issues in various regional and multilateral forums. Our partnership is multifaceted.
“In the past few years, since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina assumed office, we have attained some tangible goals in many areas, such as, land boundary and maritime boundary demarcation, security, connectivity, development cooperation, cultural exchange, power and energy, trade and commerce, and defence exchange, and so on.
“The security cooperation together with our collective fight against terrorism and violent extremism continue to play an important role in achieving peace and stability in the region.
“We are confident that the trajectory of our bilateral relations would guide the two countries to identify further areas of cooperation and make joint progress in these sectors,” he said.
Both countries are going to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral relations and Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence together next year.
The Virtual Summit between our two Prime Ministers is the ‘testimony to the joint commitment to our shared history’.
“We also expect to receive and host the Prime Minister of India next year to mark the milestone anniversaries that I have just mentioned. These are just a few instances how we walk together, how we think alike and how we manage to collaborate with each other,” the state minister said.
He also sought India’s cooperation in resolving the Rohingya crisis in a sustainable manner.
“We want voluntary and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya people to their country of origin immediately. We believe, as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, India can play a meaningful role in this regard for establishing stability in this region,” he said.
“In the evolving regional and global context, Bangladesh will continue to pursue its peace-centric and sustainable development focused approach.”
He also expressed hope that India would continue “to be our trusted partner in our onward journey towards development and progress”.
