In the capital of Oman, Muscat, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar recently held a meeting with the interim government’s Foreign Advisor of Bangladesh, Touhid Hossain. Following this meeting, Jaishankar remarked that some claims made by the leaders of the interim government of Bangladesh were ‘ridiculous.’
Speaking at a public meeting about Bangladesh, Jaishankar made these remarks. According to NDTV, he raised concerns about Dhaka’s continual unfriendly behavior towards New Delhi. He warned that Dhaka needs to decide what kind of relationship it wants with India.
Accusing Dhaka of duplicity, Jaishankar further stated that Bangladesh cannot blame India for its internal affairs while expecting to maintain a good relationship with India.
The Indian External Affairs Minister said that someone from the interim government of Bangladesh is blaming India daily for every incident, which is entirely ridiculous. Meanwhile, they talk about maintaining good relations with India. Therefore, Dhaka needs to decide what it wants.
He added that to move forward, they must determine what kind of relationship they want to maintain with New Delhi. Because we have a long history with Bangladesh, which reminds us of the events of 1971.
Jaishankar said, “There are two aspects to the problems facing our bilateral relationship. One of them is communal attacks on minorities, which is a very concerning issue for India. It undoubtedly influences our thinking. We are always talking about this issue.”
Earlier on Monday, in response to Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s statement that Bangladesh needs to decide what kind of relationship it wants with India, interim government’s Foreign Advisor Md. Touhid Hossain replied that India also needs to decide what kind of relationship it wants with Bangladesh. Instead of focusing on what a few people say or do not say, we should try to improve our relationship.
Touhid Hossain said, “He (Jaishankar) said that Bangladesh needs to decide what kind of relationship it wants; of course, Bangladesh will decide what kind of relationship it wants with India. Similarly, India needs to decide what kind of relationship it wants with Bangladesh. It is a mutual issue, and there is no harm in saying this.”
Regarding the government’s decision about relations with India, the advisor stated, “I believe we have a clear decision in this regard. We want good working relations with India, with mutual respect and consideration for each other’s interests. We have no ambiguity in this regard.”