India and Bangladesh signal commitment to strengthen relations

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday conveyed to his Bangladeshi counterpart Khalilur Rahman India’s desire to engage “constructively” with the new government in Dhaka and further strengthen bilateral ties.

In their meeting, Jaishankar and Rahman deliberated extensively on charting a new path of cooperation, leaving behind more than 18 months of heightened diplomatic tension witnessed during the tenure of Bangladesh’s interim government.

Rahman, accompanied by the Bangladesh prime minister’s advisor for foreign affairs, Humayun Kabir, arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday.

It is the first high-level visit to India by a senior member of the new Bangladesh Nationalist Party government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman that came to power in February following the parliamentary elections.

“We discussed strengthening our bilateral relationship in its various facets. Also exchanged views on regional and global developments. Agreed to remain in close touch,” Jaishankar said in a social media post after meeting Rahman.

The Bangladeshi side also reiterated its request to extradite former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to Bangladesh who have been awarded the death penalty by the International Crimes Tribunal in that country, it is learnt.

At the same time, the two sides were of the view that Sheikh Hasina’s stay in India should not be allowed to impede ties between the two countries, people familiar with the matter said.

The previous government led by Muhammad Yunus had requested India to extradite Hasian as she was convicted of “crimes against humanity” for the crackdown on the student-led protests.

The Bangladesh foreign minister also met Oil and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Puri.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval hosted Rahman for a dinner meeting last evening.

“The external affairs minister reiterated India’s desire to engage constructively with the new government and further strengthen bilateral ties,” the Ministry of External  Affairs (MEA) said.

“The two sides agreed to explore proposals for deepening the partnership through the relevant bilateral mechanisms. Follow-on official meetings are expected to take place at an early date. Further, both sides exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest,” it said.

In the meeting, Rahman stated that the BNP government under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman would pursue its foreign policy in accordance with the principle of “Bangladesh First” approach and on the basis of mutual trust and respect and reciprocal benefit.

The Indian side assured the Bangladeshi delegation that issuance of visas to Bangladeshis, particularly medical and business visas, would be eased in the coming weeks.

In his talks with Puri, Rahman conveyed thanks for the recent supply of diesel to Bangladesh and requested that the volume of supply of diesel and fertiliser be increased.