Bangladesh a pivot of India’s ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ and a key partner of its ‘Act East Policy’- Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra

By himalaya Diary News Service On Feb 15, 2023

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on Wednesday conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message of India’s continued commitment to the bilateral relationship upholding Bangladesh as the pivot of India’s ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ and a key partner of its ‘Act East Policy’.

Foreign Secretary Kwatra concluded his visit to Bangladesh on Wednesday. During his visit he also called on Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen.

India and Bangladesh held the Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) on Wednesday. The Indian side was led by Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra while the Bangladesh delegation was led by its Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen. Both the sides held wide-ranging discussions covering all aspects of the relationship between India and Bangladesh.

They agreed to further strengthen ongoing bilateral cooperation, in diverse areas, including the Government of India-funded concessional Lines of Credit (LOC), trade and investment, connectivity, power and energy, defence and security, and people-to-people ties.

They also agreed to enhance their cooperation and consultations on regional and international issues of shared interest. In this context, India conveyed to Bangladesh that it looks forward to active participation of Bangladesh as the Guest Country at various events during India’s presidency of G-20. Both sides also agreed to extend reciprocal support to each other’s upcoming candidature for Non-Permanent membership of the UN Security Council.

In recent years, especially in the last decade, India and Bangladesh have sustained a high level of engagement, including at the leaders’ level. The visit of Foreign Secretary helped further strengthen the multifaceted partnership between the two countries, reinforced their time-tested ties and provided an opportunity to comprehensively review progress in the bilateral relationship, said the press release issued by the High Commission of India in Dhaka.