Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has called his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar to expedite initiatives to resolve the Teesta water sharing issue and sought support over the Rohingya crisis in their maiden talks in Tajikistan, reports BSS.
“He [Momen] drew the Indian counterpart’s attention towards the pending much expected Teesta [water sharing] treaty and ... the foreign minister sought India’s active support and cooperation in resolving the Rohingya problem,” the state news agency quoted a statement by the foreign ministry.
It said Momen simultaneously urged the Indian counterpart to take effective steps to stop killings on the Bangladesh-India borders by the Indian border guards.
The two foreign ministers held their first meeting on Friday at a hotel in Tajik capital Dushanbe where Momen is accompanying President M Abdul Hamid to the 5th Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
The Indian foreign minister, the statement said, assured Momen about necessary Indian cooperation regarding the issues as the Modi government “shows mature sensitivity” in developing friendly relations with neighbouring countries.
Jayshankar, who previously served as India’s top diplomat, termed Bangladesh as gateway of New Delhi’s “look east economic diplomacy” in view of its geostrategic location and said the feature could benefit both the countries as well as BIMSTEC, the regional economic forum.
“India puts highest importance on regional connectivity,” he added.
Reached Dushanbe for the 5th #CICA Summit and begun meetings. Delighted that first one was with our closest friend Bangladesh @AKAbdulMomen pic.twitter.com/iK3vKcXzYG
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) June 14, 2019
Momen sought Jaishankar’s cooperation in attracting Indian investment at 100 special economic Zones (SEZs) in Bangladesh.
Mentioning that he visited India as the first country after appointed as foreign minister, Momen also invited his Indian counterpart to visit Bangladesh soon.
Jaishankar hoped that he will visit Bangladesh soon at his convenient time.
The two foreign ministers expressed their satisfactions over the existing deep cordial bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India and hoped that it will further be expanded in the days to come.
Momen said it is an example for the world that how Prime Ministers Sheikh Hasina and Narendra Modi lifted Bangladesh-India ties at an unprecedented height by resolving prolonged sensitive disputes through their political insights and farsighted matured leadership.
