Conveyed a message of good neighbourliness to Bangladesh: Jaishankar

India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, “Right now, they (Bangladesh) are heading for elections. We wish them well in that elections. We hope that once things settle down, the sense of neighbourlyness in this region will grow.”

Jaishankar said India has two kinds of neighbours, good and bad. Most neighbours believe that if India grows, they too will grow and as India develops, they will develop alongside it. He said he conveyed this very message during his visit to Bangladesh to attend the last rites of former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia.

S Jaishankar arrived in Dhaka this Wednesday to attend Khaleda Zia’s funeral prayers. This was the highest-level visit by an Indian representative to Bangladesh since the fall of the Awami League government following a mass uprising last year. During the brief visit, he paid his last respects to Khaleda Zia and met BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, handing over a condolence message from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Jaishankar made these remarks on Friday, while speaking at an event at IIT Madras in Chennai, where he discussed relations with neighbouring countries. He was asked how India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy is being redefined in light of political changes in Bangladesh and existing security concerns.

In response to the question, Jaishankar spoke in general terms about India’s approach towards its neighbours, without naming any country. However, it was clear that by referring to a ‘bad neighbour’ he was alluding to Pakistan. He said India has both good and bad neighbours, and that most acknowledge that a sense of good neighbourliness would lead to shared growth alongside India.

Without naming Pakistan, Jaishankar said that when a neighbour persistently sponsors terrorism, necessary steps have to be taken to protect the people and safeguard national interests. “How we exercise that right is up to us. Nobody can tell us what we should or should not do. We will do whatever we have to do to defend ourselves,” he added.

In this context, the foreign minister referred to the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan. He said the water-sharing agreement was concluded in a spirit of good neighbourliness. But it was unacceptable for a country to continue sponsoring terrorism for decades and then seek water-sharing arrangements.

Explaining the idea of good neighbourliness, Jaishankar said that people generally behave well with their neighbours—offering help in times of difficulty, maintaining at least cordial relations, and attempting to build friendship. Countries, too, behave in much the same way with their neighbours.

He said this sense of good neighbourliness is evident in India’s relations with its neighbours. India has extended assistance, made investments, and during the Covid-19 pandemic most neighbouring countries received vaccines from India first. During the Ukraine war, when food, fertiliser and fuel shortages emerged, India extended support as far as it could.

India provided USD 4 billion in assistance to Sri Lanka during its economic crisis, and more recently, India was the first to send aid to Sri Lanka during Cyclone ‘Ditwah’. Everyone knows that India stands by its neighbours in times of crisis and can be relied upon to step forward, he said.

Jaishankar added that India’s engagement is not limited to times of crisis alone. Building power grids, constructing roads and ports, expanding trade and tourism, and assisting people coming to India for medical treatment—all of these, he said, reflect a positive and constructive sense of good neighbourliness.

He then again referred, without naming Pakistan, to the ‘bad neighbour on the western frontier’ and its support for terrorism.

Concluding his remarks, Jaishankar said that it is this message of good neighbourliness that he conveyed to Bangladesh. At this moment, Bangladesh is preparing for elections and heading in that direction. He has conveyed their good wishes and hopes that once things settle down, the sense of good neighbourliness in this region will grow.