Bangladesh and India Foreign Secretaries meet, stress on deepening collaboration for greater prosperity

Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra led the respective delegation to the Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) held at the historic Hyderabad House in New Delhi this afternoon.
 
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 benefits of the two peoples.
 
Bangladesh Foreign Secretary thanked the Government of India for inviting 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 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, consular and cultural issues. They also discussed to address the challenges to be faced by Bangladesh during post-graduation scenario. Both sides reiterated that the two border guard forces should continue their cooperation to have a peaceful border.
 
Foreign Secretary Ambassador 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.
 
Bangladesh 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 Rohingya crisis.
 
Indian 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 Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh 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.

Bangladesh Foreign Secretary is expected to brief the Heads of the Missions based in New Delhi (around 90 Missions) in the 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 next round of Foreign Office Consultations would be held in Dhaka. The Foreign Secretary will be returning to Dhaka on November 25.