PM's first India visit should be bilateral; no hurry: Adviser Humaiun Kobir
He said groundwork needs to be done on several issues before the two sides can reach a consensus.
Highlights:
- Bangladesh wants PM Rahman's first India trip to be bilateral, not a summit sideline meeting
- Foreign adviser says India shows growing recognition of shifted sentiment since Aug 5
- Indian envoy says Modi has assured PM Rahman an "honourable reception"
- Dhaka says Hasina's Delhi press appearance disrupted visit planning process
- Bangladesh renews extradition request for Hasina, convicted by war crimes tribunal
- India says Hasina extradition request under ongoing legal review
- India extends invitations for bilateral visit and BRICS summit outreach session
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's first visit to India should be a bilateral visit rather than a meeting on the sidelines of multilateral platforms such as Brics or the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), PM's Foreign Affairs Adviser Humaiun Kobir said today (20 August).
"The first visit should be bilateral. We should invite each other to our homes, understand?" he said, describing Bangladesh and India as two important countries.
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Talking to private TV channels at his office, Adviser Kobir said any visit should have a clear outcome, with mutual respect and engagement in place.
"There are issues related to the interests of the two countries and these are not something to rush into," he said. "When we see that the timing is right, we are willing to visit."
He said groundwork needs to be done on several issues before the two sides can reach a consensus.
The adviser said that in recent days, Bangladesh has seen a fairly positive conversation from India, along with a strong realisation on the Indian side that the events of 5 August have deeply affected the sentiments of the people of Bangladesh.
"If India truly means resetting relations, then it must realise today's Bangladesh," Kobir said, noting that "in today's Bangladesh, a terrorist like Sheikh Hasina or her party does not exist."
"So, by recognising this reality, we have to take the relationship forward," the Adviser said.
India's promise to give the Prime Minister Tarique Rahman an "honourable welcome" during his visit makes New Delhi's intent unmistakably clear, Indian media The Print reports, noting that the ball is now in Dhaka's court.
Acknowledging that there are issues between the two neighbours, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi on Tuesday night called on Bangladesh and India to move beyond their differences and work together to build a relationship based on "mutual and unconditional trust," saying such differences can be resolved through engagement and dialogue.
"I can tell you I fully understand there are issues, but these issues can definitely be sorted out once the Prime Minister of Bangladesh (Tarique Rahman) and our Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet," he said.
The Indian envoy also conveyed what he described as an assurance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding a future visit by the Bangladesh Prime Minister to India.
"After meeting the Prime Minister here, I went straight to Delhi and had a great meeting with our Prime Minister. He (PM Modi) just mentioned one thing: we need to meet," he said.
"You can tell them on my behalf that you have the Prime Minister of India's assurance that when the Prime Minister of Bangladesh visits India, he will have such an honourable reception as he deserves," he added, quoting the Indian Prime Minister.
The visit, Trivedi said, would be "a memorable visit" whose benefits would ultimately reach people and businesses on both sides.
On August 16, Bangladesh urged India to act expeditiously on its request and help create a "propitious environment" for Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to make a bilateral visit to India.
"We are of the view that a propitious environment needs to be created for the visit," said AKM Shahidul Karim, spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Officials from Bangladesh and India have been in touch for several weeks regarding the possibility of a bilateral visit by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to India.
However, spokesperson Karim said, this process was "vitiated" by the open press interaction in New Delhi on 5th August by Sheikh Hasina, who the International Crimes Tribunal has convicted for committing crimes against humanity.
"We have made our position clear on this matter," he said while reading out a written statement. The spokesperson, however, did not take any question.
To this end, Bangladesh requested the Indian authorities to expeditiously act on its request to extradite Sheikh Hasina and other fugitive criminals, and to hand over to Bangladesh the accused killers of Shaheed Sharif Osman Hadi in compliance with their bilateral extradition treaty.
"We are awaiting their response," said the spokesperson.
Bangladesh reiterated that they will continue to pursue their "Bangladesh First" policy to promote friendly bilateral relations with other countries, including their neighbours, on the basis of sovereign equality, national dignity, non-interference in each other's internal affairs and mutual benefit.
On Hasina's extradition request, the Indian government has recently said that the matter is being examined as part of ongoing judicial and internal legal processes.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters in New Delhi on Friday evening that they have extended an invitation to the prime minister of Bangladesh for a bilateral visit.
"We've also extended an invitation to the prime minister of Bangladesh for a visit to India for the outreach session of the Brics Summit. So, these invitations have been extended, and I shall keep you updated if there is any progress in this regard," he added.
