Bangladesh Foreign Minister avers country exploring ways to increase cooperation with India

Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said his country is looking into ways to deepen cooperation with India.

Speaking at the first Sylhet-Silchar Festival’s opening ceremony in Assam on Friday, Momen said that Bangladesh sees India as its major partner in South Asia and that the two nations have a variety of ties, including economic and cultural ones.

Further, he also emphasised the vital position India’s northeast plays in the bilateral relations between the two nations. He claimed that Bangladesh is keen to expand its cooperation with India and has given its think tanks the task of coming up with strategies to make sure it happens.

Momen  further added that anti-India terror organisations had been driven off its soil because of his nation’s dedication to its neighbour.  “Our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has affirmed that Bangladesh will not be allowed to be used as a terrorism hub,” he added.

The minister asserted that PM Hasina had expressed Bangladesh’s willingness to aid in the development of the Northeast region to New Delhi during her visit in September.

He insisted that Bangladesh wants better road, rail, and air connectivity and that it has already given India access to its ports for the transportation of products.

He also harped on the importance and need for greater people-to-people connect as he recalled his personal connections with Assam.

Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and Department of North Eastern Region (DONER) G Kishan Reddy, who was also present at the inaugural ceremony, spoke on the ancient ties that southern Assam shares with present-day Bangladesh.

He said that the relations became more firm after 2014 with Narendra Modi becoming the Prime Minister of India, and the two prime ministers of the neighbouring countries meeting 13 times since then.

He claimed that it was a record in terms of the number of meetings and is also indicative of the importance both countries laid on strengthening bilateral ties.

On the significance of the Northeast in these bilateral ties, Reddy said the development of the region would ensure greater cooperation with Bangladesh.

The two-day festival is being organised by India Foundation under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Culture, in association with the Bangladesh Foundation for Regional Studies.