Special Report :
In an interview with India’s ANI news agency, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina emphasizsed that she would not meddle in India-China problems and that leading nations should always resolve disagreements through discussion.
Hasina, who is visiting India today, lauded the Vaccine Maitri program’s generosity in providing Covid-19 vaccinations to neighboring nations when the pandemic was rapidly spreading in a televised interview with ANI. Prime Minister Hasina is scheduled to visit India tomorrow.
Sheikh Hasina also complimented the action taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rescue Bangladeshi students who were trapped in eastern Europe after the commencement of the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Bangladesh which forms a critical component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative is treading a thin line when it comes to relationships between India and China. After recognising Bangladesh as an independent state on August 31st, 1975, China gradually improved bilateral relations with Bangladesh.
“Over time, China has become Bangladesh’s largest trading partner,” said Chinese ambassador Li Jiming speaking at the China-Bangladesh Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum 2021 on Sept 28,, 2021, adding that Bangladesh is China’s third largest market for engineering contracts in South Asia.
The Prime Minister Hasina, emphasised the need for improved cooperation between the two neighbours. She added that while there might be disagreements, these should be resolved via discussion and pointed out that Bangladesh and India have done just that in a number of instances.
Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, straddled a delicate diplomatic line when she responded to a query about balancing her nation’s relations with both China and India. Prior to her State visit to India, Hasina stated that Bangladesh’s foreign policy is “friendliness to everyone, enmity to none” in an interview with ANI. She continued by saying that the goal should be to improve people’s lives and that poverty is the single factor that unites the two nations.
Hasina recalled her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s influence on establishing Bangladesh’s foreign policy “Our foreign policy is well-defined. In his speech to the UN, my father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the nation’s founding father, stated the phrase “friendship to all, hatred to none.” And we adhere to his philosophy.
Bangladesh is reaching out to the international community to ensure that the Rohingya migrants return to their place of origin, according to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who also noted that she believes India might play a significant role in finding a solution. Bangladesh which is facing major balance of payment crisis and has applied to the IMF for bailout, is hosting 1.1M Rohingyas.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina referred to India as a “valued friend” and stated that the two nations’ “long-standing” water-sharing conflict needs to be settled in order to lessen the difficulties her country’s inhabitants are currently experiencing.
Hasina inquired during the discussion about her nation’s collaboration with India over river water sharing, particularly with reference to the Teesta River. Although there were difficulties, according to Hasina, they could all be worked out amicably.
“It is terribly sorry that we are downstream,” you know. Since India is the source of the water, India ought to be more giving.
And I want to make the argument that we must prioritise our people. How can we make their lives better? How can they have a better life? Additionally, I frequently assert that we have a single enemy. Such is the poverty. Therefore, let’s collaborate “Added she.
Sheikh Hasina, who is serving her third consecutive term as PM will be facing elections next year.
