Staff Reporter :
The first-ever summit of the former diplomats of Bangladesh and India ended in Dhaka on Saturday with a call to the governments for deepening and widening economic engagement and intensifying security cooperation for mutual benefit of the peoples of the two countries.
The summit, organised by Department of International Relations of Dhaka University in cooperation with India-Bangladesh Foundation, adopted a nine-point ‘Dhaka Declaration’ which chartered the future course action.
The declaration, adopted on the concluding day of the two-day Bangladesh-India High Commissioners’ Summit, urged Dhaka and New Delhi to intensify their efforts to strengthen their relationship by taking a holistic approach in
addressing bilateral issues and challenges.
It reaffirmed that the countries should strengthen their friendly relations on the basis of mutual trust, amity and cooperation in the best interests of the two peoples by protecting their democratic values and rights.
In the declaration, the diplomats emphasized the need for strengthening cooperation at sub-regional and regional levels with particular focus on SAARC and BIMSTEC to widen the economic engagement between the two countries with particular focus on free and increasing flow of goods and services, including investment and financial services.
It recognized the importance of deeper and effective communications at the popular level through greater and comprehensive flow of information and contacts between students, academicians, print and electronic media, corporate sector, environmentalists and other stakeholders to build enhanced level of awareness, mutual trust and confidence.
The diplomats, however, decided to form an alumni body of the High Commissioners of Bangladesh and India who have served in the two countries for regular interaction and sharing of experiences among themselves and with other stakeholders.
The declaration also recommended the continuation of their interaction by organizing regular biennial summit and proposed holding the next Summit in India in 2016.
Project Coordinator of DU Department of International Relations Professor Imtiaz Ahmed read out the ‘Dhaka Declaration’ when former Indian High Commissioners in Dhaka Muchkund Dubey, IS Chadha, Deb Mukharji, Veena Sikri and Pinak Ranjan and Bangladesh’s ex-diplomats to India Tariq Karim, Faruq Sobhan, Harun ur Rashid, Mostafa Faruque Mohammad and Humayun Kabir attended the concluding day summit.
