Dhaka aims to maintain working relations with Delhi: Foreign adviser

Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hosain on Saturday said Dhaka would like to maintain working relations with New Delhi by removing the ongoing tension between the two neighboring countries.

“We must try to maintain a working relation between Dhaka and New Delhi,” he told newsmen at the foreign ministry here while revealing about the bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar on the sideline of the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), reports BSS/AFP.

Hossain said he believed that it is possible to advance the Dhaka-New Delhi bilateral relations. "Sorting out of all issues, we want to further advance our relationship based on mutual respect and fairness," he said.

Acknowledging the current strain between the two nations, Hossain said, “We must recognize the tension. If we don't address the problems, we won’t be able to resolve them.”

Responding to a question about potential meeting between Chief Adviser Prof. Muhammad Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of UNGA, he clarified that no meeting would take place as Modi is set to leave New York before Prof. Yunus arrives.

When asked if the absence of the meeting was linked to comments made by the interim government and reported in Indian media, Hossain downplayed the suggestion and said top Indian leaders have made comments in the past too but that is not something that prevents the leaders from holding meetings.

"There may also be cases when Bangladesh does not like many comments from India. This is not a major issue. We cannot change our neighbours but can only coexist with good relationship," he observed.

Hossain revealed that Chief Adviser Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus will depart for New York on September 23 to attend the 79th UNGA while he is scheduled to deliver his speech at the high-level General Debate on September 27.

The Chief Adviser is expected to provide an account of the unprecedented mass uprising in Bangladesh over the past two months and express his firm commitment to building a people-centric, welfare-oriented, and equitable state, he added.