Bangladesh can play bridging role in Indo-China ties, Prof Bajpai says

The Indo-China relations expert gives a lecture at IUB

Renowned Indo-China relations expert Prof Kanti Prasad Bajpai has suggested Bangladesh can act as a bridge in the relations between China and India since it has an interest in the peaceful management of ties between the Asian giants.

Prof Bajpai is vice-dean at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

He floated the idea when he delivered a lecture on May 7 at the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) in Dhaka, the university said in a statement on Monday.

He also expressed optimism about the unfolding situations in his remarks and urged all to view the matter more contextually instead of through simplistic binary lenses.

The Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies (CBoBS) of IUB and the Cosmos Foundation co-organised the lecture titled ‘Squaring the Circle of India China strategic interests intersecting in the Indo Pacific: implications for South Asia and Regional and Global Stability, Security and Peace’.

Tanweer Hasan, the vice-chancellor of the university emphasised the importance of students and faculty members getting exposure to critical global issues.

He praised CBoBS for drawing attention to the globalisation and localisation processes and thus helping students reap the benefits from these events, according to the statement.

Enayetullah Khan, chairman of Cosmos Foundation, highlighted the importance of cooperation between India and China for the development of Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal region, it said.