Staff Reporter :
The first-ever India-Bangladesh High Commissioners’ summit began at the University of Dhaka on Friday morning aimed at further broadening bilateral ties between the two countries.
Past and present high commissioners of the two countries joined the summit that began at 9:00am at Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban of the university to share experiences and offer insights into India-Bangladesh relations.
The Department of International Relations, Dhaka University and the India-Bangladesh Foundation organised the event, styled ‘India-Bangladesh High Commissioners’ Summit’.
Inaugurating the two-day summit as the
chief guest, Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood said he believed that “despite ups and downs in the past, the relationship has reached a point from where it can only blossom”.
India-Bangladesh relations have withstood “the test of time”, setting a “precedent” for other regional countries “to emulate”, he said. “There is no end to further strengthening of our relations.”
Muchkund Dubey, who was the high commissioner to Dhaka from October 1979 to October 1982, I S Chadha, who served from October 1985 to February 1989, Deb Mukharji from March 1995 to July 2000, Veena Sikri from December 2003 to November 2006, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty from January 2007 to December 2009 and Rajeet Mitter from December 2009 to October 2011, joined the summit.
Former Bangladesh envoys who served in New Delhi and Kolkata Harun ur Rashid, CM Shafi Sami, Farooq Sobhan, Humayun Kabir, Tariq Karim, and Mostafa Faruque Mohammed, among others, joined them in the summit. Dhaka University Vice Chancellor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique spoke, among others, at the inauguration.
The inaugural session was followed by three working sessions where the former high commissioners of the two countries delivered their speeches on Lessons from the Past, Changes and Hurdles in Contemporary Times, and India-Bangladesh Relations and its Future.
Although Dhaka-Delhi relationship is in good condition at present, there should not be any complacency… more economic integration should be for giving further impetus to the existing bilateral relations between the two countries,” said veteran Indian diplomat Muchkund Dubey. Dubey, who served as Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh from October 1979 to October 1982 said this while taking part in the two-day summit. Taking part in the technical session, Bangladesh’s former High Commissioner to India Faruq Ahmed Chowdhury said that three or four key issues that can be looked into for further strengthening Dhaka-Delhi ties. The issues are- trust and confidence, perception and reality and mutual respect and benefit.
For creating a sense of confidence, he emphasized talks between the two governments and formulating good communications strategy for further enhancing people to people contact. India’s ex-envoy Veena Sikri emphasized enhancing regional collaboration through increasing connectivity and implementation of Asian Highway for the benefit of the people in the region. Highlighting the historical background of India-Bangladesh relations, the foreign minister told the envoys that they were “the living testament of Bangladesh-India relations and rare witnesses to a history in the making”. He described the initiative as being “brilliant and unique”. “You have seen how the relationship began, and how it evolved and flourished over the years,” he said and also shared his own experiences of working with many of them. Since its inception, he said that India-Bangladesh relations had gradually reached “a complex, multi-dimensional and comprehensive realm”. “As it grew, it has had significant bearing on the region and beyond.” “We are constantly venturing into newer areas of cooperation which would have appeared impractical even a decade ago,” he said, referring to the past five years’ engagements.
“This has set a precedent for other countries in the region to emulate. It also signifies the width, depth and the level of confidence in our bilateral relations,” he said, adding, there would always be issues between neighbours, and Bangladesh and India were “no exceptions”.
“We are hopeful of settling the other pending issues which would add a new dimension to the relations”, he said, citing an “amicable” settlement of the maritime boundary delimitation issue. He, however, did not mention any specific problems in the relationship.
The foreign minister recalled India’s support in the 1971 War of Independence, and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s prophesy after his visit to India that “Bangladesh and India would live in eternal friendship as brothers”. He said, unfortunately, after Bangabandhu’s assassination, bilateral relations took “a different path”. “It again picked up and gathered momentum after the Awami League-led government assumed office in 1996 and later in 2009,” he said.
The 2010 and 2011 visits of the two prime ministers gave “a new direction” to the relationship, he said. Referring to engagements following those visits he said the relations attained “a new maturity based on the appreciation, respect and understanding of each other’s perspectives, concerns and priorities which has put the relationship on a solid footing”. He also referred Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement of recognising Bangabandhu as the founder of Bangladesh and Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina as its “saviour”. “It demonstrates the BJP government’s positive attitude towards Bangladesh and its government.
“All these clearly show that the relationship is on the upswing,” he said, adding, “There is no denying the fact that our mutual interests can be best served by strengthening our relations”.
The first-ever India-Bangladesh High Commissioners’ summit began at the University of Dhaka on Friday morning aimed at further broadening bilateral ties between the two countries.
Past and present high commissioners of the two countries joined the summit that began at 9:00am at Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban of the university to share experiences and offer insights into India-Bangladesh relations.
The Department of International Relations, Dhaka University and the India-Bangladesh Foundation organised the event, styled ‘India-Bangladesh High Commissioners’ Summit’.
Inaugurating the two-day summit as the
chief guest, Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood said he believed that “despite ups and downs in the past, the relationship has reached a point from where it can only blossom”.
India-Bangladesh relations have withstood “the test of time”, setting a “precedent” for other regional countries “to emulate”, he said. “There is no end to further strengthening of our relations.”
Muchkund Dubey, who was the high commissioner to Dhaka from October 1979 to October 1982, I S Chadha, who served from October 1985 to February 1989, Deb Mukharji from March 1995 to July 2000, Veena Sikri from December 2003 to November 2006, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty from January 2007 to December 2009 and Rajeet Mitter from December 2009 to October 2011, joined the summit.
Former Bangladesh envoys who served in New Delhi and Kolkata Harun ur Rashid, CM Shafi Sami, Farooq Sobhan, Humayun Kabir, Tariq Karim, and Mostafa Faruque Mohammed, among others, joined them in the summit. Dhaka University Vice Chancellor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique spoke, among others, at the inauguration.
The inaugural session was followed by three working sessions where the former high commissioners of the two countries delivered their speeches on Lessons from the Past, Changes and Hurdles in Contemporary Times, and India-Bangladesh Relations and its Future.
Although Dhaka-Delhi relationship is in good condition at present, there should not be any complacency… more economic integration should be for giving further impetus to the existing bilateral relations between the two countries,” said veteran Indian diplomat Muchkund Dubey. Dubey, who served as Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh from October 1979 to October 1982 said this while taking part in the two-day summit. Taking part in the technical session, Bangladesh’s former High Commissioner to India Faruq Ahmed Chowdhury said that three or four key issues that can be looked into for further strengthening Dhaka-Delhi ties. The issues are- trust and confidence, perception and reality and mutual respect and benefit.
For creating a sense of confidence, he emphasized talks between the two governments and formulating good communications strategy for further enhancing people to people contact. India’s ex-envoy Veena Sikri emphasized enhancing regional collaboration through increasing connectivity and implementation of Asian Highway for the benefit of the people in the region. Highlighting the historical background of India-Bangladesh relations, the foreign minister told the envoys that they were “the living testament of Bangladesh-India relations and rare witnesses to a history in the making”. He described the initiative as being “brilliant and unique”. “You have seen how the relationship began, and how it evolved and flourished over the years,” he said and also shared his own experiences of working with many of them. Since its inception, he said that India-Bangladesh relations had gradually reached “a complex, multi-dimensional and comprehensive realm”. “As it grew, it has had significant bearing on the region and beyond.” “We are constantly venturing into newer areas of cooperation which would have appeared impractical even a decade ago,” he said, referring to the past five years’ engagements.
“This has set a precedent for other countries in the region to emulate. It also signifies the width, depth and the level of confidence in our bilateral relations,” he said, adding, there would always be issues between neighbours, and Bangladesh and India were “no exceptions”.
“We are hopeful of settling the other pending issues which would add a new dimension to the relations”, he said, citing an “amicable” settlement of the maritime boundary delimitation issue. He, however, did not mention any specific problems in the relationship.
The foreign minister recalled India’s support in the 1971 War of Independence, and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s prophesy after his visit to India that “Bangladesh and India would live in eternal friendship as brothers”. He said, unfortunately, after Bangabandhu’s assassination, bilateral relations took “a different path”. “It again picked up and gathered momentum after the Awami League-led government assumed office in 1996 and later in 2009,” he said.
The 2010 and 2011 visits of the two prime ministers gave “a new direction” to the relationship, he said. Referring to engagements following those visits he said the relations attained “a new maturity based on the appreciation, respect and understanding of each other’s perspectives, concerns and priorities which has put the relationship on a solid footing”. He also referred Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement of recognising Bangabandhu as the founder of Bangladesh and Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina as its “saviour”. “It demonstrates the BJP government’s positive attitude towards Bangladesh and its government.
“All these clearly show that the relationship is on the upswing,” he said, adding, “There is no denying the fact that our mutual interests can be best served by strengthening our relations”.
