Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj has arrived in Dhaka on a goodwill visit to assure continuation of New Delhi’s foreign policy and seek assurance of Dhaka’s commitment to Bangladesh-India relationship.
“This is an important trip as she will assure Bangladesh side that India will not change its foreign policy and at the same time she wants to be assured that Bangladesh will continue its cooperation with India,” said a senior official of the Foreign Ministry yesterday.
Sushma arrived by a special flight last night on an invitation of her Bangladesh counterpart AH Mahmood Ali.
“Another significant thing is that Bangladesh is her first foreign destination after assuming the office as the foreign minister in May,” the senior ministry officials told the Dhaka Tribune, adding: “It means Bangladesh matters.”
The BJP won Indian election and formed government in May and the party in its election manifesto had said it would attach importance to regional bloc, including the Saarc countries.
Sushma Swaraj and Mahmood Ali will have official talks this morning where Bangladesh will raise the issues of Teesta water sharing, land boundary agreement and border killing, said another official.
Indian media yesterday reported that Sushma had called West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and discussed her visit to Bangladesh.
Bangladesh and India were scheduled to sign the Teesta water sharing agreement in 2011 but could not do so because of strong resistance from Mamata.
Sushma will call on President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today and is expected to hand over a formal invitation letter to Hasina to visit India.
She will also deliver a lecture on Bangladesh-India relationship. Tomorrow she will meet Leader of the Opposition Rawshan Ershad and two advisers to the prime minister – Mashiur Rahman and Gowher Rizvi.
Khaleda-Sushma meet
Under the outreach initiative of the BJP government, Sushma will also make a courtesy call on BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia tomorrow morning, Khaleda’s press secretary Maruf Kamal Khan Sohel said at a press conference on Tuesday night. He, however, said the venue and the exact time for the meeting would be informed later.
“The BNP wants to maintain a friendly relationship with India. Former prime minister Khaleda Zia had met Sushma Swaraj in October 2013 when she visited India,” Sohel said. “The BNP hopes that the ties between the two countries under the new leadership in India would flourish.”
Meanwhile, talking to reporters at the party’s Nayapaltan headquarters, BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday expressed hope that Sushma’s visit would create a new scope for resolving the outstanding issues with the neighboring country.
“The BNP hopes that the unsolved issues between the two countries, including border crisis and fair share of waters of the common rivers, will be resolved through the visit of Sushma Swaraj,” Fakhrul said.
The BNP leader said the BJP government was trying to intensify India’s ties with its neighboring countries. “Sushma’s Dhaka visit will intensify the ties,” he said.
