India desires to work closely with interim govt of Bangladesh: Vikram Misri

India desires a positive, constructive and mutually beneficial relationship with Bangladesh, visiting Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri said this on Monday.

“... I have underlined today India’s desire to work closely with the interim government of Bangladesh authorities,” he remarked after a meeting with foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain in the afternoon.

Earlier in the day, Vikram Misri arrived in Dhaka by a special flight of Indian Air Force amidst high tension between the two neighbouring countries. This is Misri’s first visit as a foreign secretary.

He was greeted at the Kurmitola airport by the director general of the foreign ministry’s South Asia desk, Ishrat Jahan.

Vikram Misri told the media, “Today’s discussions have given both of us the opportunity to take stock of our relations, and I appreciate the opportunity today to have had a frank, candid, and constructive exchange of views with all my interlocutors. I emphasised that India desires a positive, constructive, and mutually beneficial relationship with Bangladesh.”

“We have always seen in the past, and we continue to see in the future, this relationship as a people-centric and people-oriented relationship, one that has the benefit of all the people as its central motivational force,” he stressed.

Such a relation is also reflected in the mutually beneficial engagement Bangladesh and India have on a whole set of issues ranging from trade, commerce, connectivity, power, water, and energy, and development cooperation, consular cooperation, and cultural cooperation.

“There is no reason why this mutually beneficial cooperation should not continue to deliver in the interests of both our peoples,” the Indian foreign secretary stated.

“And to that end … I have underlined today India's desire to work closely with the Interim Government of Bangladesh authorities.”

Vikram Misri told the media that they discussed certain recent developments and issues, including the safety and welfare of minorities.

“At the same time, we also had the opportunity to discuss certain recent developments and issues, and I conveyed our concerns, including those related to the safety and welfare of minorities. We also discussed some regrettable incidents of attacks on cultural, religious, and diplomatic properties,” he added.

“A constructive approach on all these issues by the Bangladesh authorities, and we look forward to moving the relationship forward in a positive, forward-looking, and constructive direction.”

Vikri Misri also stressed, “Since the political changes in Bangladesh in August this year, there has of course been contact between our leaderships. The Prime Minister was the first world leader to greet the Chief Advisor on his assumption of office.”

The two of them had a very cordial telephone conversation thereafter, and the Chief Adviser (Muhammad Yunus) also accepted the Prime Minister’s (Narendra Modi) invitation to speak at the third Voice of the Global South Summit that was held in August this year.

Vikri Misri said, “Since then, the External Affairs Minister and the Foreign Affairs Adviser have also been in touch. They met each other on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September this year, and my visit follows those interactions and is the first Foreign Secretary-level structured engagement between the two sides following those developments.”