NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote to Bangladesh chief adviser Muhammad Yunus on Bangladesh National Day, extending his felicitations and underscoring the significance of working together on the basis of mutual sensitivity to each other’s interests and concerns.
The development came barely a week before the two leaders come face to face for the first time — at the Bimstec summit in Thailand — since Yunus assumed office as the head of the interim govt last year, after the ouster of former PM and India’s ally Sheikh Hasina.
Modi said that the national day stands as a testament to “our shared history and sacrifices, that have laid the foundation of our bilateral partnership”. “The spirit of Liberation War of Bangladesh continues to remain a guiding light for our relationship, which has flourished across multiple domains, bringing tangible benefits to our people,’’ said Modi.
“We remain committed to advancing this partnership, driven by our common aspirations for peace, stability, and prosperity, and based on mutual sensitivity to each other’s interests and concerns,’’ he added.
Both leaders will participate in the Bimstec summit in Bangkok on April 3-4. While Dhaka has sought a bilateral meeting, India has so far been quiet on the issue.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar was earlier quoted as having told a Parliamentary committee that the request is under consideration. Govt sources said Wednesday that Modi’s bilateral engagements on the margins of the event will be announced later. India has been cagey apparently because of Dhaka’s grandstanding on sensitive issues after bilateral engagements on sensitive issues like protection of minorities and the fate of Hasina.
President Droupadi Murmu too wrote to her counterpart Mohammed Shahabuddin, expressing support for a democratic, stable, inclusive, peaceful and progressive Bangladesh.
“India-Bangladesh relations are multi-faceted with our cooperation encompassing diverse areas such as trade, multimodal connectivity, development partnership, power and energy, education, capacity building, cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchanges. Bangladesh is at the focus of India’s “Neighbourhood First” and “Act East” policies, its SAGAR doctrine and the Indo-Pacific Vision,’’ she said.
