Border killings unfortunate: Jaishankar

Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar has said that if one border killing takes place along the border of the two counties, that is unfortunate.

He said that the aim of both countries should be to ensure that no criminal activities take place along the border and that there is no killing.

He was responding to newspersons at a joint press briefing Thursday afternoon at the state guest house Padma.

Earlier, he had held a meeting with foreign minister AK Abdul Momen at Padma.

When asked why, despite close ties between the two countries, Bangladeshis were still being killed on the border, Jaishankar replied that these killings took place within Indian territory.

He said, "We have discussed this issue and have agreed that every killing is unfortunate. We have questioned ourselves about the root cause of these killings and the cause is criminal activities. The aim of both sides should be to ensure a crime-free border so that there are no killings. I think both sides together can resolve the problem."

He said there were several objectives to his visit. Bangladesh was commemorating the Mujib Borsho and also its golden jubilee of independence. As Bangladesh’s closest neighbour and well–wisher, he was happy to be able to come here. He said that everyone was facing difficulties due to Covid. Partnership with Bangladesh is important for us in order to overcome the health difficulties. He said Bangladesh received the highest number of vaccines, that is 9 million, from India.

"Also, he said, I am here concerning prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit. This will be his first trip since the outbreak of Covid and his second visit to Bangladesh," the Indian foreign minster said.

Relations between Bangladesh and India are evolving, he said, and that was why, as foreign ministers, they had discussed various aspects of the relations. They had also discussed unresolved issues.

“We have also reviewed recent developments between the two countries,” he said.

Jaishankar said he saw ample possibilities of Bangladesh-India economic relations, connectivity and people-to-people contact.

When asked about sharing waters of common river, the India foreign minister said there was no change in the position of the Indian government in this regard. The matter has been discussed and secretary-level meetings will be held shortly.

Connectivity

Speaking about future cooperation to take relations ahead, Jaishankar said, "There is no area where we are not working together. If you ask me that 50 years have passed, what can be done over the next 20 years, I would say connectivity. Your minister, quoting prime minister Sheikh Hasina, has told me that in connectivity lies productivity. If we can build proper connectivity between Bangladesh and India, the entire geo-economics of the region will change. The Bay of Bengal is very effective in this regard. Both sides believe this is possible."

A large part of our discussions today (Thursday) dealt with this, he said.

"We have also discussed adding a third party to the process. Japan’s name came up as a possible country as both our countries have good relations with Japan. And Japan has a connectivity project in the Bay of Bengal. I consider connectivity as a significant target of developing relations," Jaishankar said.

And at the end of the day, relations between the two countries mean relations between the people of the two countries, he said, highlighting the importance of people-to-people contact.

"We place importance on politics in certain areas," he said, saying that this added a new dimension and impetus to relations.

Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said, the main discussion was on Narendra Modi’s visit. The Bangabandhu-Bapu Museum will be inaugurated. Bangladesh expressed its thanks to India for the supply of vaccines.

He said that the visit of India’s prime minister will take relations to new heights.