There will be issues, and they will be resolved: Dinesh Trivedi

Issues are an inherent part of democracy and that a system without issues cannot be called a democracy, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi said on Monday.

He further said he believed there was no issue that could not be resolved through dialogue.

“There will be issues, and there will be solutions. But for the people of both countries, there is only one issue—that is, good relations,” Trivedi stated.

The Indian high commissioner made the remarks while speaking to journalists after a meeting with Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed at the Secretariat this afternoon.

In response to a question, Trivedi said both Bangladesh and India had strong democratic systems and that people in both countries wanted good relations between the two neighbours.

He added that many issues could be discussed when the two leaders sat down together and expressed hope that positive developments would follow.

Responding to another question whether any specific issues had been discussed, the Indian high commissioner said that when he met the home minister, it did not feel like their first meeting.

“There are issues even at home. There is no issue that cannot be resolved,” he said.

Trivedi said both countries were democracies and that their people wanted good relations. He said he had been in Bangladesh for two months and had received warmth, respect and affection during his time here.

Earlier on Monday, Dinesh Trivedi also met Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Prime Minister’s Office in the Cabinet Division at the Bangladesh Secretariat.

The prime minister welcomed the Indian high commissioner at the beginning of the meeting. Trivedi briefed him on his experience during his first two months in Bangladesh.

The meeting also covered important bilateral issues between Bangladesh and India. Bangladesh expects India to expedite the process of extraditing former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.