Sylhet-Silchar Festival to boost ties with India’s north-east: Momen

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has said engagements such as the first Sylhet-Silchar Festival-2022 will boost Bangladesh’s ties with India’s north-east, reports news agency UNB.

The prime ministers of both countries have emphasised building a common platform of understanding and cooperation to further strengthen Bangladesh-India ties, he added.

The foreign minister is attending the first-of-its-kind two-day Silchar-Sylhet Festival-2022, which was inaugurated on 2 December in Silchar, in India’s north-eastern state of Assam.

The peace and stability in Bangladesh are also helping Indian states neighbouring Bangladesh, Momen said on the sidelines of the festival.

Sylhet and Silchar have shared close cultural ties for ages. The festival, which aims at boosting bilateral ties, is being organised by India Foundation in association with the Bangladesh Foundation for Regional Studies. It coincided with the 75th year of India’s independence and the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s liberation.

Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, minister of state for external affairs of India, met Momen, Saturday on the sidelines of the festival.

They discussed issues of mutual bilateral interest and appreciated the joint efforts in arranging the festival.

Lawmakers Iqbalur Rahim, Gazi Mohammad Shahnewaz; Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Mustafizur Rahman, and former foreign secretary Shamsher Mubin Chowdhury were present at that time.