India stands ready to help Bangladesh in realising vision for a ‘stable, progressive and prosperous’ society, says Pranay Verma

Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud on Monday laid emphasis on expanding trade with greater connectivity with India as the two countries eye “greater momentum” in their partnership in the new term of the current government.

“We discussed connectivity issues with much importance. We also discussed trade expansion,” he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after his meeting with Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma.

The foreign minister mentioned about the landmark cross-border trade settlement mechanism involving the rupee and bypassing the US dollar rolled out between the two countries recently.

“It has already begun, you know. We are looking into how it can be expanded, popularised and reached out to all. If it can be done, dependency by the two countries on dollars or other currencies will come down,” said the foreign minister.

He said the initiative will be helpful for expansion of trade between the two countries. The two sides also discussed border haats.

The foreign minister said they discussed the use of Mongla and Chattogram ports to carry goods to Northeast India and laid emphasis on further infrastructure development for its useful expansion.

Asked whether they discussed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), he said they did not discuss it in particular but talked about trade expansion opportunities.

Looking ahead, the foreign minister revealed plans for his first bilateral visit to India, accepting an invitation from his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar.

The planned visit aims to further strengthen diplomatic ties, with the exact date to be decided later. Additionally, Hasan Mahmud is set to embark on a multilateral tour of Uganda on January 17.

He will attend the Non-Aligned Movement Summit from January 19 to 20 in Kampala, Uganda.

The meeting with the Indian high commissioner marks Hasan Mahmud's first diplomatic engagement since assuming the office of foreign minister, highlighting his proactive approach in foreign affairs and regional cooperation.

Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma said Bangladesh and India will achieve even greater momentum in their bilateral partnership in the new term of the government, contributing more robustly to national development.

“Overall, I think we are very hopeful and confident that in the new term of this government we will be able to achieve even greater momentum in our bilateral partnership and we will be able to make our development partnership contribute even more robustly to our national developments,” he said.

Talking to reporters after his meeting with the foreign minister the high commissioner said they have always said India stands ready and will always be ready to help people of Bangladesh and to work with them in realising their vision for a “stable, progressive and prosperous” society guided by the longstanding friendship inspired by shared sacrifices made in the 1971 Liberation War.

Describing his meeting with the new foreign minister as a “very good one,” the diplomat said he looks forward to closer cooperation in the coming days to take the “very positive agenda” forward for the two countries.

Though it was a courtesy meeting, the high commissioner said they had discussed wide ranging issues of the relationship. “I look forward to working closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and taking forward our relationship.”

They discussed how over the last decade the relationship has acquired an “unprecedented momentum and growth” under the leadership of the two prime ministers and how it became people-centric relations, he said.

The two sides discussed some recent developments in the relationship and how the development partnership is benefitting people of the two countries and how the cooperation is making a positive impact with economic growth on both sides.

The high commissioner noted many positive developments in 2023 when the two countries saw major projects completed including energy pipeline, two railway projects, one power plant and launch of mechanism of trade in Indian rupees and digital payment system.

“It was a very wide ranging stock-taking of our relationship, very positive agenda that we have today and exploring some of the things we would like to work for the future including climate change, digital economy, how we can support Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s vision of a Smart Bangladesh by 2041, and many other areas of mutual interest,” he added.

Earlier, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar congratulated Hasan Mahmud on his appointment as foreign minister of Bangladesh.

“Look forward to working to further deepen the India-Bangladesh Maitri (friendship),” he said in a message shared on X (formerly known as Twitter).