Bangladesh-India Strategic Dialogue begins in Delhi Thursday

Building on its longstanding tradition of holding bilateral discussions with think tank partners in India, a team from the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) will be joining the two-day "India-Bangladesh Strategic Dialogue" starting today in Delhi.

The dialogue will feature a range of bilateral issues having strategic and contemporary relevance, with special emphasis on water sharing, and multimodal connectivity including road, rail, water, coastal shipping, energy, and digital connectivity, according to CPD.

Bilateral cooperation will be explored in novel areas such as monetary cooperation and technology transfer.

The evolution of bilateral relations will also be assessed in the context of emerging geostrategic circumstances.

It is anticipated that at a time when the two countries stand at important crossroads and are heading towards national elections, the dialogue will be an opportunity to discuss how the Indo-Bangladesh bilateral relationship could be reframed and reimagined in a way that meets the aspirations of both the countries and their people.

The discussion is being jointly organised by the CPD and the Ananta Aspen Centre, New Delhi. 

This is a Track-Two (non-government) initiative, said the civil society think-tank.

This will be the second dialogue under the CPD-Ananta Aspen collaboration, the first one was held (virtually) on 18 May 2022.

CPD along with its partners in India over the years has organised 16 such dialogues. The dialogues were held alternatively in Dhaka and Delhi. 

The dialogue in New Delhi will bring together high-level policymakers, experts, and partners from both countries.

From the Bangladesh side, the participants include Dr Fahmida Khatun, executive director of CPD; Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow of CPD; Professor Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow of CPD; Brig Gen (retd) Dr Sakhawat Hussain, former election commissioner; Md Shahidul Haque, former senior foreign secretary; Dr Amena Mohsin, professor of International Relations at Dhaka University; Dr M Tamim, professor at Buet; and Shams Mahmud, president of the Bangladesh-Thai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.