India commits to further strengthen relationship with Bangladesh

India is committed to take the relationship with Bangladesh ahead. At the same time, the country has put emphasis on stability in South Asia.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra expressed this during a discussion with Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen in New Delhi on Friday, said a press note of the Bangladesh foreign ministry in the evening.

The Indian foreign ministry also published a short note in this regard.
In the meeting, Bangladesh foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen highlighted several aspects of the bilateral relationship including resolving the issue of water sharing of Teesta and other transboundary rivers, removing the duty obstacles imposed on Bangladesh’s exports and ensuring unhindered supply of daily necessities.

Masud Bin Momen also requested Vinay Kwatra to make the visa processing faster for the people of Bangladesh to enhance the people to people relation.

He also sought India’s help to resolve the Rohingya crisis.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra termed Bangladesh as a trusted neighbour and expressed satisfaction on the excellent bilateral relations that exist between the two countries.

He appreciated the participation of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the recently held virtual meetings of the Global South and G20.
He assured the commitment of the leadership to further strengthen the relationship with Bangladesh.

Vinay Kwatra also emphasised maintaining stability in the region.

During the  Foreign Office Consultations (FOC), held at the historic Hyderabad House in New Delhi in the afternoon, both the foreign secretaries expressed satisfaction over the existing bilateral relations and the progress made in the year 2023.

Referring to the recent inauguration of a number of projects for enhancing connectivity and power and energy sector cooperation by the two prime ministers, they said that this sort of cooperation reflects the tangible outcomes of the strong bilateral relations.

The two foreign secretaries further emphasised bolstering cooperation in important areas such as development, trade and commerce, regional connectivity, regional power grid connection, security and water related issues, consular and cultural issues.

They also discussed addressing the challenges to be faced by Bangladesh during the post-graduation scenario.

Both sides also reiterated that the two border guard forces should continue their cooperation to have a peaceful border.