India And Bangladesh Share A Special Relationship

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 (Bernama) -- India and Bangladesh now share a special relationship, which goes beyond even a strategic partnership, said India's High Commissioner to Malaysia B. N. Reddy. He said today, 50 years on, New Delhi and Dhaka share comprehensive ties and bilateral cooperation ranging from security, trade, energy and education to space, blue economy and innovation. "This is a bond which has been forged in blood, replenished by shared history, culture and vibrant people-to-people ties," he said at an event to commemorate 50 years of India-Bangladesh diplomatic ties and the India-Bangladesh Friendship Day (Maitri Diwas) here, Tuesday night. “It was on December 6, 1971, India recognised Bangladesh and we are proud to do so as one of the first countries to extend diplomatic recognition to Bangladesh,” he said, adding that the event was an outcome of the decision taken by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina in March this year. Reddy pointed out that Bangladesh and India have a booming trade relationship where India is the second-largest trade partner of Bangladesh, while Bangladesh is India’s largest trade partner in South Asia. "The people to people ties remain the core of the bilateral ties. The largest number of tourists that India receives is from Bangladesh. Being a fast-emerging economy, the developmental requirements of Bangladesh are real and pressing," he said. Reddy said that India’s development partnership with Bangladesh is one of the most comprehensive that India has with any country and that projects worth close to US$10 billion under concessional credit lines, in roadways, railways, airports, seaports, urban infrastructure and power projects are currently under various stages of implementation. Both countries are actively exploring newer areas like power and energy connectivity through construction of petroleum and gas pipelines and transmission lines. He noted that last month, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a historic resolution to graduate Bangladesh from the least developing country (LDC) category to the developing country grouping – a major milestone demonstrating the country’s significant development progress. The event was also attended by Special Envoy of the Government of Malaysia to South Asia Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran and Deputy Minister of Human Resources Awang Hashim. Meanwhile, speaking at the event jointly organised by the High Commission of Bangladesh and the High Commission of India in Malaysia, Bangladesh High Commissioner to Malaysia Md Golam Sarwar said that to celebrate the ever-growing friendship between Bangladesh and India, the prime ministers of the two countries agreed on the joint celebration of Friendship Day in 18 selected countries all over the world. "Bangladesh deeply appreciates and expresses gratitude to India for the unwavering support and cooperation extended during our nine-month long struggle for independence in 1971," he said, adding that Bangladesh is also in the process of erecting a War Memorial in Ashuganj, in memory of the martyred Indian soldiers and Indian nationals. "2021 is an epochal year for the Bangladesh-India relationship marked by the celebrations of the Golden Jubilee of the Independence of Bangladesh, 50 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between and the birth centenary of our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the prime architect of Bangladesh’s struggle for emancipation from all kinds of exploitation, injustice and inequality," he said. Md Golam also said that Bangladesh was also preparing to celebrate the 50 years of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Malaysia, since Malaysia was the first country in Southeast Asia to recognise Bangladesh as an independent country on January 31st 1971. He further said that despite the gloomy environment precipitated by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, which has almost forced the global economy to shutter, Bangladesh is still beaming bright rays of hope under the dynamic and prudent leadership of Sheikh Hasina and even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bangladesh recorded a GDP growth of 5.24 per cent in 2020, which is the highest among all Asian countries and the 3rd fastest globally. The High Commissioner said that Bangladesh have achieved remarkable success in various areas of socio-economic development including poverty alleviation, education, health, human resources development, women empowerment, reduction of child and maternal mortality rates, elimination of gender discrimination and increase in average life expectancy, and that per capita income has tripled over the past decade. "With the continuation of the development process, Bangladesh aspires to become a developed and prosperous country by 2041, and in this endeavour, Malaysia is an important partner of Bangladesh in every spectrum of cooperation," he said. -- BERNAMA