The Indian business community has said Bangladesh is proving to be a “good manufacturing hub” for many international players, including those from India.
The business leaders stated that they have always treated Bangladesh as their “trusted and tested” partner, and the sentiment from the Indian side remains positive. They described the current situation in Bangladesh as a “temporary phase”, during which business is “not as great as it used to be earlier”.
“So, the regime change in Bangladesh initially created a wait-and-watch situation. We always respect the glorious tradition between the two countries,” said Durgesh Buxy, associate vice president and head (International Business) at Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Limited, hoping for further momentum once the situation settles down in Bangladesh.
Durgesh Buxy, who brings experience from previous roles at Bajaj Electricals Ltd, Orient Electric, and Raymond Limited, made the remarks during an interaction with the delegation of the Diplomatic Correspondents Association of Bangladesh (DCAB) at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Mumbai.
Rajesh Kamat of TATA Chemicals Limited and Surojit Banerjee, general manager (Internal Business) at Godrej Security Solutions, also spoke at the event, highlighting India’s success stories with higher growth patterns and how India has become a hub for generating CEOs.
“We have always encouraged trade, and that has encouraged many Indian entrepreneurs to invest in Bangladesh,” Durgesh said, adding that the Indian viewpoint towards Bangladesh, as far as business is concerned, has been very friendly.
Appreciating the energy, curiosity, and warmth during the conversation, the business leader said they definitely feel that Bangladesh and India share much more than just borders.
Durgesh said the CII has always worked to bring together governments, industries, and international partners to explore new opportunities. “And today’s exchange is a reflection of the very spirit of building not just business ties, but also trust and understanding—understanding between people. We do understand and respect the role of media as the fourth estate in our country,” he said.
The entire business community feels that this is a very temporary phase, and culturally and historically, the two countries enjoy a very good relationship.
Forward-oriented agenda
Talking about the economic partnership, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the commercial partnership between the two countries is mutually beneficial.
“We are working to continue to expand it. I think we have made very good progress over several years. There may be some different approaches being taken in the present phase. I hope that we can look beyond these,” he said during an interaction with DCAB members at the Ministry of External Affairs.
Misri said they should aim to set a “future-oriented perspective” for this relationship rather than view it through the lenses of the past.
The Indian Foreign Secretary said the world is changing very fast, and its impact in the region is being felt. New models and templates of cooperation are being discussed. He said the Bangladesh-India relationship offers the possibility of an extremely fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship. “It has been so in the past. There is no reason why it cannot be even more so in the future.”
Misri emphasised that the relationship should be people-centric, stating, “People must be at the centre of all our activities and initiatives, and therefore we should look at greater and more intense economic linkages and connectivity, whether physical, financial, commercial, technical, or energy-related. We already have advances and initiatives in these areas, and we should deepen these.”
He also suggested exploring new areas such as startups and technology, which are changing the face of geopolitics and geoeconomics. “Areas such as energy and healthcare—these are all areas in which we should intensify our cooperation.”
On both sides, the Indian Foreign Secretary said they need to work on creating a ‘facilitating environment’ to avoid statements or actions that could vitiate the atmosphere.
