Staff Reporter:
Bangladesh has reiterated its call for the early conclusion of the Teesta Water Sharing Agreement and other water-sharing treaties of common rivers, removing trade barriers from Bangladesh’s exportable goods and uninterrupted supply of essential commodities between the two countries.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen raised the key issues during the Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) held at the historic Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Friday afternoon (24 Nov).
He also requested his Indian counterpart to deepen and expand the people-to-people contacts and also sought India’s assistance in resolving Rohingya crisis, said the Foreign Ministry.
The Bangladesh Foreign Secretary and India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra led the respective delegation to the FOC, which serves as a key platform for holding a comprehensive discussion with a view to reviewing various bilateral issues and also exploring the new avenues of mutual interests for the greater benefits of the two peoples.
“Both sides held comprehensive discussions on a wide range of issues covering border and security, trade, commerce and connectivity, cooperation in water, power and energy sectors, people to people ties and development cooperation in Bangladesh. Both sides also exchanged views on sub regional, regional and multilateral issues,” reads a press release of Ministry of External Affairs, India.
Bangladesh Foreign Secretary thanked the Government of India for inviting Bangladesh Prime Minister to attend the “G20 Leaders’ Summit “as the only South Asian leader under India’s G20 Presidency.
Both the Foreign Secretaries expressed satisfaction over the existing bilateral relations and the progress made in the year 2023.
Referring to the recent inauguration of number of projects for enhancing connectivity and power and energy sector cooperation by the two Prime Ministers, they said that this sort of cooperation reflects the tangible outcomes of the strong bilateral relations.
The two Foreign Secretaries further emphasised bolstering cooperation in important areas such as development, trade and commerce, regional connectivity, regional power grid connection, security and water related issues, consular and cultural issues.
They also discussed to address the challenges to be faced by Bangladesh during post-graduation scenario. Both sides reiterated that the two border guard forces should continue their cooperation to have a peaceful border.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra termed Bangladesh as a trusted neighbor and expressed satisfaction on the excellent bilateral relations that exist between the two countries.
He appreciated the participation of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh at the recently held virtual meetings of the Global South and G20. He assured the commitment of the Leadership to further strengthen the relationship with Bangladesh. He emphasized maintaining stability in the region.
Next round of Foreign Office Consultations would be held in Dhaka.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen will return to Dhaka on Saturday (25 November).
