Hasan in India: Myanmar issue takes centre stage
Dhaka and New Delhi yesterday discussed the ways of working together to deal with current developments in Myanmar and the security implications for the two countries that share borders with the Southeast Asian country.
They also discussed a roadmap for future areas of substantive bilateral cooperation between Bangladesh and India.
Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud, who is on a three-day official visit to India, held a meeting with India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval at the Sardar Patel Bhaban in Delhi in the morning. He also met his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar at the Hyderabad House followed by dinner.
This was the first bilateral meeting of Hasan Mahmud after he took the charge of the foreign ministry.
"The situation in Myanmar is worrying for both the countries," he said as ethnic armed groups are fighting pitched battles against the Myanmar junta that took control of the country through a coup in February 2021.
Hundreds of Myanmar military and border forces also fled the country and took shelter in India and Bangladesh.
The ways of ensuring regional political stability and peace were discussed, Hasan Mahmud told journalists after placing a wreath at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Complex, reports our New Delhi correspondent.
"Bangladesh has achieved unprecedented development under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. India also made expansive progress under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There are no alternatives to ensuring regional political stability and peace for continuing the upward trajectory of development," Hasan Mahmud said.
"We discussed the issue but just one meeting cannot lead to a joint action plan," he replied when asked if India and Bangladesh plan to formulate a coordinated strategy on dealing with the Myanmar crisis.
He added that the Rohingya refugee issue and their repatriation to Myanmar were also discussed at the meeting.
Hasan Mahmud emphasised on early conclusion of Teesta water-sharing agreement. He also stressed on renewal of Ganges water-sharing treaty that will expire in 2026, says a statement of the Bangladesh foreign ministry.
He requested his Indian counterpart to withdraw tariff and non-tariff barriers for Bangladesh's exports, as well as ensure uninterrupted supply of essential commodities to Bangladesh for maintaining price stability, especially during Ramadan.
The issue of border killings was discussed and both agreed to enhanced cooperation between the two border guard forces and using non-lethal weapons to reduce border killing to zero.
India's External Affairs Minister Jaishankar emphasised on regional connectivity and power sector cooperation and stressed on devising ways and means of fast-tracking of LoC projects, the statement added.
Both foreign ministers expressed commitment to further enhance their collaboration to promote sub-regional cooperation within the framework of BIMSTEC, IORA, and BBIN.
On India-Bangladesh ties, Hasan Mahmud said he would aim to expand it further in areas of connectivity, trade, business and people-to-people exchanges.
Asked if he invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Dhaka, he said, "We would be very delighted if he can pay a visit to the country."
Dates for a possible visit to India by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina are yet to be finalised.
A press statement by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said they reviewed the progress in bilateral relations and discussed the areas of future engagement in line with the Modi's vision of "Viksit (developed) Bharat 2047" and Hasina's "Smart Bangladesh 2041".
Hasan Mahmud invited Jaishankar to Dhaka for the next Joint Consultative Commission Meeting at his earliest convenience.
During his visit to India, he will also call on President of India Droupadi Murmu and hold a meeting with Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.