New Delhi: India and Bangladesh have agreed to work ‘closely together’ to further deepen and strengthen cooperation in the areas of common rivers and water resources management, IT and cybersecurity, among a host of other sectors.
Both sides will also ensure enhanced cooperation in renewable energy, agriculture and food security, sustainable trade, climate change and disaster management.
A Joint Press Release issued at the end of the 7th Round of India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission in New Delhi said both the Ministers recalled the “warmth shared by both sides”, borne out of the shared sacrifices of the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, that have forged close historical and friendly relations that transcend the traditional notion of a strategic partnership.
The Ministers welcomed the further strengthening of bilateral ties with the unprecedented visits by both the President and the Prime Minister of India to Bangladesh in 2021 to jointly commemorate three epochal events – the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman; the 50th anniversary of the independence of Bangladesh and the golden anniversary of India-Bangladesh diplomatic ties.
The seventh round of the India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission was held in New Delhi on Sunday, June 19, and it was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and his Bangladesh counterpart Dr A K Abdul Momen.
The release said that both Ministers recalled the warmth shared by both sides, borne out of the shared sacrifices of the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, which have forged close historical and friendly relations that transcend the traditional notion of a strategic partnership.
A “role model” for bilateral and regional cooperation, the Ministers, appreciated that the trust and mutual respect shared between the two countries has only strengthened in the last decade.
A recent testimony of this was the launch of the trailer of ‘Mujib – making of a nation’, the jointly produced biopic on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2022, the joint release stated.
The Ministers also expressed satisfaction that despite challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, both sides have worked closer than ever before in every sector, from security and border management to mutually beneficial trade and investment flows.
Both sides also reiterated the importance of the safe, speedy and sustainable return of the forcibly displaced persons from the Rakhine State to Myanmar, currently being sheltered by Bangladesh.
It was agreed that the 8th round of India-Bangladesh JCC will be held in Bangladesh in 2023.
