PM Modi wants Rahman’s visit to be memorable, says Indian envoy
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants his Bangladeshi counterpart Tarique Rahman’s proposed visit to India to be “memorable”, Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi has said, stressing that closer ties between the two leaders would ultimately benefit people and businesses in both countries.
The envoy’s remarks on Tuesday came as uncertainty looms over Rahman’s proposed visit to New Delhi for the BRICS summit on September 12-13 amid fresh strains in bilateral ties over Dhaka’s demand for the extradition of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Speaking at a reception hosted by the Indian High Commission here on Tuesday for leading Bangladeshi business leaders and a visiting delegation of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Trivedi said Modi had conveyed that the two leaders needed to meet and assured that Rahman would receive an appropriate welcome during his visit to India, news portal tbsnews.net reported.
“Prime Minister Modi just mentioned one thing. We need to meet. And you can tell them on my behalf that you have the prime minister of India’s assurance that when the honourable prime minister of Bangladesh visits India, he will have such an honourable reception as he deserves,” he said. Trivedi said Modi wanted Rahman’s visit to be “memorable”, underlining that stronger engagement between the two leaders would benefit both the neighbours.
“Ultimately, the benefit will go to people and businesses. Business people all over the world have a big role to play in bridging this gap,” he said. Trivedi said the two countries should address past differences while looking ahead. “I am not telling that you forget the past, but keep the past and sort out the differences of the past. But move on. Don’t get stagnant,” he said.
He said differences are natural between “vibrant democracies” and could be addressed through dialogue and engagement.
“We deeply understand the concerns of brothers and sisters of Bangladesh. Definitely, there are concerns. But this is a partnership of equals,” Trivedi said.
He stressed that mutual trust would be essential for a durable relationship.
“The foundation of any long-lasting relation is mutual and unconditional trust,” the envoy said.
Highlighting India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy, Trivedi said the two countries had gone through “hiccups” but should not allow differences to undermine their broader relationship.”We have shared history, we have shared culture, and this is where we need to foster,” he said.
Referring to the younger generation in Bangladesh, Trivedi said India wanted to work with the “new Bangladesh” to create greater opportunities for its youth.”This is a new Bangladesh. And this new Bangladesh has the youth. And youth has also gone through a lot of struggles and a lot of sacrifice. So, our objective obviously [is] to have peace and prosperity and the youth must get that opportunity,” he said.
