Visiting Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri said Monday New Delhi wants to increase engagements with Bangladesh’s Interim Government and make “joint and concerted efforts” to boost relationships between the two neighbours.
“There is no second thought about increasing engagements. We see this as beneficial for both countries,” Misri said when he called on Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka
“We want to carry on from where we left off,” Misri said as they discussed issues of mutual interests.
During the 40-minute long meeting, the issues of minorities, misinformation campaigns, ousted dictator Sheikh Hasina’s stay in India, regional cooperation and the July-August mass uprising were discussed.
“We have to do business with the government of the day. This is a major relationship” he said.
Professor Yunus described relationships between Bangladesh and India as “very solid” and “close”. He asked India to help clear the “clouds” that have cast a shadow over the relationship between the two neighbours in recent times.
He raised the issue of the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India on August 5 after 15 years of brutal and corrupt dictatorship.
“Our people are concerned because she is making many statements from there. It creates tensions,” Professor Yunus told the Indian foreign secretary.
Misri, who held a bilateral meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart earlier in the day, said he monitored events in Bangladesh almost every hour during the July-August mass uprising.
The Chief Adviser elaborated how students, workers and people joined hands in July-August to end Hasina’s corrupt regime through the mass uprising.
“Our job is to keep their dreams alive. It is a new Bangladesh,” he said and briefly outlined the reform initiatives undertaken by the Interim Government.
Misri said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first foreign leaders to greet Professor Yunus after he assumed office.
“We wish you every success,” he said, adding that media narratives and the Indian government’s perception about India-Bangladesh relations are different.
He said it was a wrong perception that India had ties with one particular party in Bangladesh.
“They are not meant for one particular party, but for every one.”
Professor Yunus called for close bilateral cooperation in floods and water management urged India to join in his initiative to revive SAARC.
“We want to build a prosperous new future for all of us,” the Chief Adviser said.
Misri said that India continues to engage with SAARC, while there are some obstacles.
About the minority issues, the Chief Adviser said the Interim Government is committed to protecting every citizen and safeguarding their rights irrespective of their creed, colour, ethnicity and gender.
“We are a family. We have to work together,” he said.
Misri said India doubled the number of visas for Bangladeshis last month and would increase the number further in the coming days. “We can take our relationships forward,” he said.