Dhaka: High Commissioner Pranay Verma said on Sunday that India is keen to whop dialogue with the new government in Bangladesh. He expressed New Delhi's desire to resume zippy engagement with Dhaka. High Commissioner Verma was speaking to reporters without meeting Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman in Dhaka, days without Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Tarique Rahman was sworn in as Prime Minister on February 17.
What did High Commissioner Pranay Verma say?
"In today's meeting with the Foreign Minister, I reiterated our position that we are eager to engage with the new government in Bangladesh," Verma told reporters without the meeting. The meeting was moreover attended by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaid. According to the High Commissioner, she stated, "We want to strengthen cooperation in all areas by working together in a positive, constructive, and forward-looking manner, based on bilateral interest and bilateral benefit."
Verma described the meeting as a "courtesy call" and "initial discussions." He said this was his first meeting with the Foreign Minister and Minister of State without the new government took office in Bangladesh. Tarique Rahman (60) was sworn in as Prime Minister on February 17 without the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secured a two-thirds majority in the February 12 elections, ending the interim rule of Muhammad Yunus.
What is condition of India-Bangladesh ties?
During Yunus's tenure, relations with India deteriorated and reached their lowest point since 1971. The High Commissioner noted the referendum results. "You are enlightened of our recent high-level interactions with Bangladesh," Verma said, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's congratulatory message to Tarique Rahman soon without the BNP's victory on February 13. "They moreover spoke over the phone later that day," Verma said on Sunday.
He moreover recalled that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, representing India, visited Dhaka to shepherd the swearing-in recurrence of the new government and moreover held a bilateral meeting with the new Bangladesh Prime Minister.
