India has expressed its intention to engage with the newly elected government of Bangladesh and further strengthen multifaceted bilateral ties, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
He made the remarks while responding to questions on Bangladesh during a regular press briefing in New Delhi on Friday.
Senior Indian journalist Gautam Lahiri and a correspondent from the Press Trust of India (PTI) raised two separate questions on Bangladesh.
Referring to the Indian Prime Minister’s letter to Prime Minister Tareque Rahman, Gautam Lahiri questioned what kind of inclusivity India was seeking in Bangladesh when the largest political party had not been allowed to participate in the election.
He also asked whether India would resume visa and other consular services in Bangladesh.
The PTI correspondent asked whether the Indian foreign ministry agreed with remarks made by BNP Chairperson’s Adviser Humayun Kabir in a recent interview, in which he raised the issue of growing radicalization in India.
Response to Lahiri’s Question
In response to Gautam Lahiri’s question, the MEA spokesperson said, “Once the election happened in Bangladesh, our prime minister congratulated Bangladesh prime minister his excellency Mr Tareque Rahman on 17th (February) when the swearing in ceremony happened.”
He said Speaker of the Lok Sabha Om Birla represented the Government of India at the swearing-in ceremony and handed over a letter from the Indian Prime Minister to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. He also held a bilateral meeting with the Bangladeshi Prime Minister.
“The letter that was handed over underlined India’s commitment to support democratic progressive and inclusive Bangladesh as you rightly pointed out and we on our part we building on a warm and historical historic ties between our two countries.”
India looks forward to further strengthening multifaceted bilateral ties with Bangladesh and engaging with the new government to move relations forward, he said. On the visa issue, India has conveyed its desire to build and strengthen bilateral ties, he added.
Response to Radicalization Question
In response to the question on radicalization, the spokesperson said, “We have a new government in place. We want to build our ties and we have to want to strengthen our ties. All aspects of our relationship will be discussed and we’ll see how best we can take our relationship in the positive direction and build on our warm and historic ties with Bangladesh.”
