India-Bangladesh relations have improved dramatically: External Affairs Minister Jaishankar in New Delhi

May 1, 2024 3:41 am

India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said that Northeast India has benefited the most from the dramatic improvement in Bangladesh’s relations with India. He was speaking at a session on ‘Integration of Northeast India with Southeast Asia and Japan: Balancing Economic Ties and Environmental Conservation’ at Kirori Mal College, New Delhi on Monday.

S. Jaishankar also said that the partition of India broke the natural connectivity of North East India. However, various efforts of the central government have led to the development of the area in the last decade.

He said, when we signed the land border agreement in 2015, a new dimension of trust and relationship opened up between the two countries. Since then many other issues have been resolved, including countering terrorism and instability. He said that in the war of 1965, East Pakistan cut off all communications, including all rail and road communications. Which was then connected with the rest of India. The initial challenge was getting it back.

India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said that India’s access to Bangladeshi ports such as Chittagong and Mongla has greatly encouraged trade in the region, especially India’s northeast. Geographically, ports like Mongla or Chittagong would have been the natural ports of the north-eastern region. But due to political reasons we could not enter the ports. Looking at the potential unfolding with the Northeast, we see a huge improvement in India-Bangladesh relations. Where many opportunities have opened up.

Jaishankar said another important infrastructure project that the Modi government has invested heavily in is the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway. It will connect India’s Northeast with Vietnam. He said, Myanmar was a big challenge for India, there were several problems until democracy was restored. Meanwhile, more serious problems have emerged in the past few years since the military took over. Working to mitigate the border problem.

Jaishankar said, if these steps are fruitful and the East can be reached through North-Eastern Myanmar, at the same time the connectivity to the southern side of Bangladesh is available, then the whole of Eastern India including the sea coast of India will be more intensively developed, which is the objective of the Modi government.