Only Hasina can solve all problems between Bangladesh, India: Nasim

Health Minister Mohammed Nasim, citing examples, has said that only Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina can solve all problems Bangladesh have with its neighbour India through discussion.

He referred to the recent implementation of land boundary agreement and solving maritime boundary dispute, and also sharing the Ganges river water during Hasina’s first term in office in 1996 and said: “she solved all those through discussion.”

“She believes in solving problems through discussion. She does not want to keep issues pending,” Nasim said while speaking at an event in Dhaka organised by the Indian High Commission on Monday.

High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla was also present.

The High Commission commemorated the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme and Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Day bringing together alumni of those two scholarship programmes.

The ITEC Programme was instituted in 1964 as part of India’s Development Assistance Programme within the framework of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation and the South-South cooperative strategy, offering developing countries the benefit of India’s development experience and appropriate technologies.

Every year more than 10,000 training slots are offered to 161 partner countries for training courses in various areas like accounts, audit, management, SME, rural development, and parliamentary affairs.

Over 3,500 young Bangladeshi professionals have undergone such specialised short and medium term courses in India under the ITEC programme since 2007.

So far, over 3,200 Bangladeshi students have been granted ICCR Scholarships to study in India since 1972. These ICCR scholarships are awarded at all levels from undergraduate to post-doctoral levels in all disciplines, except medicine.

The health minister thanked India for offering those scholarships. “I believe the relations with go-ahead by the day,” he said, identifying poverty and terrorism as common enemies of the two neighbours.

“We (Awami League government) never support fundamentalism and terrorism. We never compromised. We have friendly relations with India in this regard also,” he said.

The high commissioner highlighted the cooperation between the countries in recent years and said India would be with Bangladesh “both in good and bad times”.

“Everything we do is based on mutual respect and mutual benefit of each other,” he said.

“We’ll develop together,” he said, adding that, “The only way we can move forward if we can develop together and cooperate and help each other.”

Around 700 ITEC and ICCR alumni from all walks of life have attended the event which was followed by a short cultural programme presented by the ICCR alumni.