Desk Report:
After the meeting of Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman has expressed his hope to further advance Bangladesh-India relations on the basis of mutual respect, understanding and cooperation.
The Prime Minister’s meeting with the Indian High Commissioner was held at the Prime Minister’s Office in the Bangladesh Secretariat on Monday (August 10). The Foreign Minister made these remarks at a press briefing to journalists after the meeting. Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Humayun Kabir was present at the time.
The Foreign Minister said that Bangladesh’s position on the August 5 incident has been clearly conveyed to the Indian authorities and they have taken the matter seriously. He said that the Indian authorities had informed him about this yesterday as well and discussed the matter with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today.
He said that the three important pillars of a state are the executive, legislative and judicial branches. A competent court in Bangladesh has tried Sheikh Hasina and sentenced her. The opportunity for the convicted person to defend himself or present his statement should be through the court.
The Foreign Minister said that all countries in the world are expected to respect the state institutions and constitutional framework of Bangladesh. Bangladesh hopes that the Indian government will also understand the matter.
He also said that after the discussions with India, he has been somewhat reassured and expects that no action that undermines or weakens any pillar of the state of Bangladesh will be repeated in the future.
Regarding Bangladesh-India relations, Khalilur Rahman said that there is an opportunity to take the relationship forward in a more constructive direction through mutual communication and understanding between the two countries. He expressed optimism that important issues were discussed between the two sides in recent meetings.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Minister also explained to journalists about the invitation of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to the BRICS summit. He said that the Prime Minister was not directly invited to BRICS; rather, he was invited as the current chair of BRICS.
He said that earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given a letter to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on the day he took office as the Bangladeshi government. That letter also included an invitation. However, the specific date of the invitation has not been finalized yet.
The Foreign Minister said, “The three dates have not been fixed, but there is an invitation there. We will see when it will happen.”
It is believed that mutual communication between Bangladesh and India is being strengthened through recent meetings and discussions. The Bangladeshi Foreign Minister expressed the hope that future relations will be more positive and effective based on regular discussions on issues of mutual interest and mutual respect between the two countries.
