Shillong/Agartala, (Samajweekly) Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Doraiswami said on Wednesday that macro issues would help boost India-Bangladesh relations and economic growth of the two neighbouring countries.
Stressing on the need to look at the macro issues from a grass-roots level, the Indian envoy said: “The macro issues can be dealt with very efficiently only when they are broken down into smaller parts.”
Highlighting the history of Bangladesh and India, he stressed on the importance of the year 1971 as the foundational rock for the diplomatic relationships between the two close neighbours.
Doraiswamy was speaking at a virtual summit organised by Shillong-based think-tank ‘Asian Confluence’ on Tuesday. Bangladesh Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Md Shahriar Alam, along with many experts, economists and academicians also spoke in the meeting, which was organised as a run-up event to the forthcoming virtual summit to be held between the Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh.
Doraiswamy and Alam jointly released a summary report titled “Bangladesh-India Relations: New Dimensions and Opportunities”, prepared by the Asian Confluence led by its Executive Director Sabyasachi Dutta.
The Bangladesh minister recalled the support provided by the Indian government and the people during the liberation movement of Bangladesh.
He noted that despite challenges, the relationships between India and Bangladesh continue to be stable and have flourished in the past few decades.
Alam said that as a member of the UN Security Council, India can play a major role in the region to tackle difficult matters, including the Rohingya issue in Bangladesh.
“Bangladesh is working on sustainable and socio-economic development, keeping in mind its vision for 2041,” Alam said.
Those who took part in the panel discussion included summit ambassador Pinak Ranjan Chakraborty, former Governor of Bangladesh Bank Atiur Rahman, Ambassador Riewad V Warjri, Executive Director of Dhaka based SANEM Selim Raihan, FICCI President Jahnabi Phookan, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Mizanur Rahman, and Centre Head of Neighbourhood Studies Sreeradha Dutta, among others.
Stronger ties between the northeastern region of India and Bangladesh for mutual benefit were highlighted by the panellists.
The 20-page report titled “Bangladesh-India Relations: New Dimensions and Opportunities”, prepared by the Asian Confluence, includes a survey conducted by the organisation and explores the issues related to connectivity, trade and investment, agriculture and energy cooperation.
The report also highlighted the need for further development of border infrastructure, the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) basin, tourism, public healthcare and traditional medicine, and suggests the opportunities in these sectors and the way forward which can aid in strengthening the relationship between the two countries.
