Bangladesh and India have stressed deepening collaborations in all sectors for the greater prosperity of the two neighbours.
Both sides held comprehensive discussions on Friday under the Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) 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.
Both sides also exchanged views on sub-regional, regional and multilateral issues, the Indian external affairs ministry said.
Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra led the respective delegation at the meeting held at the historic Hyderabad House in New Delhi.
The FOC serves as a key platform for holding a comprehensive discussion with a view to reviewing various bilateral issues and also exploring the new avenues of mutual interests for the greater benefit of the two peoples, the Bangladesh foreign ministry said.
Foreign Secretary Momen thanked the government of India for inviting the Bangladesh Prime Minister to attend the “G20 Leaders’ Summit “as the only South Asian leader under India’s G20 Presidency.
Both the foreign secretaries expressed satisfaction over the existing bilateral relations and the progress made in the year 2023.
Referring to the recent inauguration of a number of projects for enhancing connectivity and power and energy sector cooperation by the two prime ministers, they said that this sort of cooperation reflects the tangible outcomes of the strong bilateral relations.
The two foreign secretaries further emphasized bolstering cooperation in important areas such as development, trade and commerce, regional connectivity, regional power grid connection, security and water-related issues, and consular and cultural issues.
They also discussed addressing the challenges to be faced by Bangladesh during the post-graduation scenario.
Both sides reiterated that the two border guard forces should continue their cooperation to have a peaceful border.
Foreign Secretary Masud 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 ensuring uninterrupted supply of essential commodities between the two countries.
The foreign secretary requested his counterpart to expedite the visa issuance process to expand the people-to-people contacts.
He also sought India’s assistance in resolving the Rohingya crisis.
Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra termed Bangladesh as a trusted neighbor and expressed satisfaction on the excellent bilateral relations that exist between the two countries.
He appreciated the participation of the prime minister at the recently held virtual meetings of the Global South and G20.
He assured the commitment of the leadership to further strengthen the relationship with Bangladesh. He emphasized maintaining stability in the region.
Foreign Secretary Momen will brief the heads of the missions based in New Delhi (around 90 missions) on Friday evening, who are concurrently accredited to Bangladesh with residence in New Delhi.
During the briefing, he is expected to highlight the recent socio-economic developments of Bangladesh and the country’s various engagements at regional and multilateral level, the foreign ministry said.
The next round of Foreign Office Consultations would be held in Dhaka. Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen will return to Dhaka on Saturday.