Pakistan has a lot to learn from Bangladesh, India’s defence minister says

India is happy that Bangladesh is making all-round progress and moving fast on the path of development – adopting modernisation, secularism and empowerment of women, the country's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said. He also asked Pakistan to take a cue from Bangladesh.

He made the remarks yesterday (July 15, 2022) while launching a new warship in Kolkata, our New Delhi correspondent reports.

Rajnath was effusive about Bangladesh's socio-economic development model and said it is an example for many countries in the world.

"The way Bangladesh is making progress in all fields, it will certainly rise to new heights of advancement in the future," he added.

Without naming Pakistan, he said, "One of our neighbouring countries, which is totally affected by religious fanaticism and is itself affected by it, besides poverty, unemployment and terror, needs to learn a lot from Bangladesh and introspect instead of troubling India."

"India has always stood by Bangladesh in health, education, economy, connectivity and security fields and will continue to be so with full readiness in future too," Rajnath said.

He said India is enhancing its power not only for its national security interests but also for its "friends".

"Our Navy will always have to be ready to be the first responder during any contingent, domestic and international. We also need to be ready to support our friends in this region be it Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka or the Maldives. If India is bolstering its power, it is not only for itself but also for its friends."