New Delhi: The bilateral relationship between New Delhi and Dhaka has not been impacted due to the recent spate of communal riots in Bangladesh, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said Tuesday, adding that the ties between the two countries have hit a “high point” in recent years.
Shringla’s statement came ahead of President Ram Nath Kovind’s visit to Bangladesh from 15 to 17 December, on the occasion of 50 years of ‘Victory Day’ and the liberation of Bangladesh.
Last week, Shringla had visited Bangladesh and met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in order to pave the way for the visit, and discussed the ongoing connectivity projects that are expected to boost the strategic and economic ties between the neighbours.
“Having visited the country just a short while ago, I would completely dispel any sense or any perception that there is unease in the relationship. There is no unease in the relationship. The relationship is an extraordinary one,” Shringla said at a special media meet.
“The relationship is not only a close relationship based on our multifaceted ties … But it is based on ties of history, ties of culture, ties of language and so it is bound by people-to-people ties, which I think cannot be replicated very often in other cases,” he continued.
“Those ties today are at a high point … The relationship which has been born out of a very strong leadership vision and guidance, very few countries can enjoy that kind or level of leadership … It reflects the intensity of the ties,” the foreign secretary added.
In October, Bangladesh witnessed a spate of communal violence during Durga Puja, in which the minority Hindu community was targeted. However, in the same month, it was decided that President Kovind would visit the country.
“Of course, with all our neighbours, we need to keep managing the relationship. We need to make sure that any issues that come up are addressed by both sides. If they are not addressed, we continue to talk about them … This is an excellent time for the relationship,” Shringla said.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Dhaka for his first visit abroad since the Covid outbreak.
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Depth and dynamism of ties
According to Shringla, the visit by the President is also an opportunity to recognise the “depth and dynamism” of the bilateral ties.
“India today is one of the most important economic partners of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is India’s largest trade partner in South Asia … Despite the pandemic, bilateral trade grew at an unprecedented rate of 14 per cent,” Shringla said, adding that trade grew to $10.78 billion in 2020-21 from $9.46 billion in 2019-20.
He also said India and Bangladesh today are “better connected than ever before”.
Shringla said hydrocarbons like diesel will soon move across the India-Bangladesh ‘Friendship Pipeline’.
US sanctions on Bangladesh security officials
Shringla said the visit by President Kovind has a bilateral component and thus the recent actions by the US to sanction some of the top officials of Bangladesh do not impact the trip.
“Our focus is really on our bilateral relationship and we normally don’t comment on relations between third countries. And on this occasion, I would like to refrain from making any comment that would be extraneous to both the visit as well as our immediate priorities,” he said.
(Edited by Neha Mahajan)
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