No need for speculation over RAW chief's Bangladesh visit: Information Advisor Zahed

There is no reason for speculation over the visit of India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief Parag Jain to Bangladesh, Information and Broadcasting Advisor Zahed Ur Rahman has said.

Jain arrived in Dhaka from China and is expected to meet his Bangladeshi counterpart, Zahed said at the government's weekly press briefing on Tuesday.

"There is a lot of speculation about the RAW chief's visit. He has come from China to Dhaka. This is also a visit, and he will sit with his counterpart," Zahed said.

He said the government may issue a statement after the visit if it considers it necessary, but there is "nothing to speculate about".

Zahed also rejected suggestions that the visit was secret, noting that Bangladesh's intelligence chief had previously travelled to India.

He referred to recent remarks by Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi, saying Bangladesh and India cannot change their shared geography and must therefore remain engaged.

"Friends can change, as they say in foreign policy, but neighbours cannot. So we have to engage," Zahed said.

He said Bangladesh wants to "realign" its relationship with India, arguing that ties should be based on relations with the people of Bangladesh rather than with particular parties or individuals, as he said had happened during Sheikh Hasina's rule.

He said India was now also speaking of building relations with the people, making engagement between the two countries' intelligence agencies and their counterparts a natural part of bilateral ties.

However, Zahed said Indian institutions must not operate in Bangladesh with the attitude he attributed to them during the Hasina administration. 

Relations, he said, must be based on mutual respect between two independent and sovereign states, while security concerns on either side can be discussed through dialogue.