Bangladesh most important in India's 'Neighbourhood First Policy': Jaishankar

India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today stressed that Bangladesh features as the most important country in the Indian Foreign Policy objectives of "Neighbourhood First Policy".

Bangladesh and India have been maintaining an excellent relationship even during the pandemic when the whole world was at a standstill, a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted him as saying today.

Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Dr AK Abdul Momen and Dr S Jaishankar met today to comprehensively discuss the bilateral issues between Bangladesh and India.

Jaishankar appreciated Bangladesh for the transformative socio-economic development under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

He emphasized on promoting trade, commerce and connectivity especially in the light of supply chain disruption resulting from Covid-19 restrictions and recent conflict in Ukraine.

He assured of India's cooperation in resolving some of the concerns of Bangladesh including the early repatriation of forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals to their country of origin.

Both the Foreign Ministers noted that 2021 was a landmark year for the Bangladesh-India relationship as the President and Prime Minister of India visited Bangladesh in a single year and both the counties celebrated the 50th years of diplomatic ties through the joint celebration of a number of landmark events across the world.

Both the Foreign Ministers expressed satisfaction with the ongoing cooperation between the countries and discussed the possible dates of the visit of the prime minister of Bangladesh to India to further cement ties.

They underscored the necessity of holding the next round of Joint Consultation Commission (JCC) meeting at the earliest convenience of both sides. Both the foreign ministers stressed on following up the decisions taken at the highest level for their effective implementation for mutual benefit.

Momen reiterated that India is the most important neighbour for Bangladesh, noting that over the last few years, both the countries have achieved remarkable progress in a number of areas.

The foreign minister recalled that the two countries had resolved many of the outstanding issues in the spirit of friendship and cooperation and expressed hope that all outstanding issues including the early signing of the Teesta Water Sharing Treaty may be concluded at an early date.

Momen stressed on robust trade and commerce between the two countries. He also sought the support of India for the speedy repatriation of the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals to their country of origin.

He expressed satisfaction on the rise of trade volume between the two countries and the announcement of 200 scholarships by the Bangladeshi government for the family members of war veterans of India who fought for Bangladesh in 1971.

He also stressed on early and timely completion of some of the projects funded by India and on the need of sub-regional cooperation in all matters, particularly in the energy sector.

The Indian external affairs minister arrived today in the afternoon with a high level delegation, including Foreign Secretary-designate Vinay Mohan Kwatra.

Earlier in the afternoon, Jaishanker called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Gono Bhaban.