They stress ‘deepening collaboration for greater prosperity’ at the Foreign Office Consultation in New Delhi
Published : 24 Nov 2023, 11:44 PM
Bangladesh and India have discussed the sharing of the Teesta river water, border and security among other issues at the Foreign Office Consultation in New Delhi.
They stressed “deepening collaboration for greater prosperity”, the foreign ministry of Bangladesh said in a statement Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and his Indian counterpart Vinay Kwatra led their sides in the meeting at the Hyderabad House on Friday.
Masud thanked the Indian government for inviting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the G20 Summit, where she had met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden, among others.
The foreign secretary raised some key issues, among others, the early conclusion of the Teesta agreement and other water-sharing treaties of common rivers, removing trade barriers from Bangladesh’s exportable goods and uninterrupted supply of essential commodities between the two countries.
He also sought India’s assistance in resolving the Rohingya refugee crisis.
Kwatra appreciated the participation of the Bangladeshi premier at the recently held virtual meetings of the Global South and G20.
Referring to the recent inauguration of a number of projects for enhancing connectivity and power and energy sector cooperation by the two prime ministers, the foreign secretaries said this sort of cooperation “reflects the tangible outcomes of the strong bilateral relations”.
They emphasised bolstering cooperation in important areas such as development, trade and commerce, regional connectivity, regional power grid connection, security and water related issues, consular and cultural issues.
They also discussed the challenges to be faced by Bangladesh after its graduation to a developing nation, when it will no longer enjoy the facilities given to least developed countries by others.
Both sides reiterated that the two border guard forces should continue their cooperation to have a peaceful border, the foreign ministry said.
The external affairs ministry of India said they held comprehensive discussions on a wide range of issues covering border and security, trade, commerce and connectivity, cooperation in water, power and energy sectors, people-to-people ties and development cooperation in Bangladesh.
They also exchanged views on sub regional, regional and multilateral issues.
The next Foreign Office Consultation will be held in Dhaka.