A spokesperson in New Delhi has urged all to look at India with a 'fresh pair of glasses' as the country has changed a lot in recent years.
"Look at India afresh," the spokesperson, who cannot be named, told a Bangladesh media delegation while visiting the Shastri Bhavan, Indian government building, in New Delhi on Saturday.
“……because some of the things that you thought about India might have changed in the last seven to 10 years, particularly youth-related. India is a very young country like Bangladesh. But if you try to sense the aspirations of youth and their perspectives, you will find that they are risk takers. They believe in entrepreneurship, innovation, technology, and social media,” the spokesperson said as half of the Indian population are now below the age of 25 years.
The 20-member Bangladesh media delegation is visiting India at the invitation of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. Apart from the Shastri Bhavan, the delegation also visited the TATA Consultancy Services (TCA) in Noida on Saturday, the last day of their stay in Delhi before moving to Ooty on Sunday morning.
The media delegation comes at a time when both the countries are preparing for the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to New Delhi in the first week of September.
The relationship with Bangladesh is 'unique', the spokesperson said, referring to the visit of the Indian President and the Prime Minister in the same year of 2021 which is "unprecedented". This speaks to the “volume” of the relations.
The visit symbolised the partnership of half-a-century between India and Bangladesh that has "strengthened, matured and evolved as a model for bilateral relations for the entire region".
Both Prime Ministers held a tête-à-tête on 27 March 2021 which was followed by delegation level talks. The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the excellent state of bilateral relations, “based on deep historical and fraternal ties, which reflect an all-encompassing bilateral partnership based on equality, trust and understanding that transcends even a strategic partnership.”
“India-Bangladesh Maitri forged in shared martyrdom during the Liberation War, has traversed a 50-year journey towards scripting Shonali Adhyaya in bilateral relations,” tweeted MEA spokesman Arindam Bagchi in December last year when Bangladesh celebrated the 50 years of independence.
Both countries are now in talks of signing a comprehensive economic partnership agreement or CEPA. The feasibility study for that is being finalised.
“Neighbours should take the benefit of our economic growth,” a senior official of the foreign ministry told the media delegation. “We have seen enormous deepening of our linkages in recent years.”
Over a million of Bangladeshis travel to India every year for different reasons from tourism to medical treatment.
“We want more people-to-people contact. We would like to see more Bangladeshis coming to India,” the official said, referring to the easing of visa processes in Dhaka.
The media delegation will return to Dhaka on July 21 after visiting Guwahati.