India wants to take relations with Bangladesh on a positive path: Jaiswal

India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that their country wants to take the relationship with Bangladesh on a positive path. He said, ‘We want bilateral relations to be good for the people of both countries.’

Jaiswal said these things in the weekly briefing on Friday.

At this time, he clarified India’s position regarding the recent tension on the border between the two countries and summoning Dhaka’s ambassador to New Delhi. He also reiterated India’s commitment to ensure a crime-free border with Bangladesh.

Jaiswal said, ‘We have made our position very clear. We summoned the Acting High Commissioner and clarified our position on border fencing. I would like to address some of the points raised by Bangladesh.’

He said, ‘We are committed to ensure a crime-free border with Bangladesh by installing barbed wire fences, lighting along the border, and technological devices to prevent cross-border criminal activities, smuggling and smuggling. We hope that Bangladesh will implement all previous agreements in a cooperative approach to combat such crimes.

Jaiswal said, ‘Our position on India-Bangladesh relations has been clearly stated several times. Our Foreign Secretary (Dhaka) visited. Where we said, we want a positive relationship, we want to move forward in a positive way. We want federal relationship with the people of Bangladesh. We want India-Bangladesh relations to be good for the people of Bangladesh and the people of India. So that’s our view, a positive view and it remains.’

Bangladesh’s Acting High Commissioner Nurul Islam, who was posted in India last week, was summoned. India informed the Bangladesh ambassador that New Delhi has followed all protocols and agreements regarding border security measures, including the timing of fencing.

The Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh was summoned a day after Indian High Commissioner Prannoy Verma was summoned in Dhaka. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh expresses deep concern and objects to the recent barbed wire fencing along the Indo-Bangladesh border.

Incidentally, at the beginning of this month, the BSF started constructing a barbed wire fence on the border between West Bengal’s Malda and Bangladesh’s Chapainawabganj. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) protested and the construction work was suspended.

(Dhaka Times/January 17/AJ)