Delhi needs to address Dhaka’s concerns - Foreign adviser says ties between two countries may improve if India does so

Abstract

Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain yesterday said Bangladesh-India relations could have improved if New Delhi had addressed Dhaka's concerns. "Bangladesh's previous government tried its best to address the concerns of India…. But India did not take measures to address those of Bangladesh," he said. The adviser was speaking at a roundtable on India-Bangladesh relationship, co-hosted by the South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) and North South University's political science and sociology department, at the university. Touhid said Bangladesh is not a threat to anyone. Addressing the event, BNP Vice Chairman SM Asaduzzaman Ripon said the AL regime provided facilities to India without proper negotiations, solely to stay in power, thereby weakening its bargaining position. AB Party Joint Member Secretary Asaduzzaman Fuaad, former diplomat Saquib Ali, NSU Vice Chancellor Prof Abdul Hannan Chowdhury, SIPG Director Sk Tawfique M Haque and NSU Associate Professor M Jashim Uddin also spoke at the event.