Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina requested India, as a member of the United Nations Security Council, to play a “strong role” in the early repatriation of the displaced Rohingyas back to Myanmar.
India assured its continued support in this regard, according to the joint statement issued after her bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi left Dhaka after a two-day state visit on the occasion of the golden jubilee celebration of Bangladesh and the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This year also marks the 50 years of India, Bangladesh relations.
Both leaders witnessed the signing of five MoUs in the field of disaster management, trade, National Cadet Corps, ICT, and sports.
He expressed “appreciation” at the generosity of Bangladesh in sheltering and providing humanitarian assistance to the 1.1 million forcibly displaced persons from the Rakhine State of Myanmar.
Both Prime Ministers reiterated the importance of their safe, speedy and sustainable return to their homeland for the greater security of the region.
Both countries agreed to continue working together for common objectives in the United Nations and other multilateral fora.
Both leaders emphasised that the regional organizations, such as SAARC and BIMSTEC have an important role to play, particularly in the post-Covid-19 situation.
The Bangladesh Prime Minister thanked the Indian Prime Minister for convening the SAARC leaders Video Conference in March 2020 and for proposing creation of the SAARC Emergency Response Fund to counter effects of the global pandemic in the South Asian region.
Both leaders agreed to further cooperate in regional and sub-regional platforms on a priority basis.
Towards this goal, they agreed to make BIMSTEC an even more effective vehicle for inter-regional cooperation to achieve the aim of collective prosperity of all member countries.
The Bangladesh side highlighted that the country would assume chairmanship of the IORA for the first time in October 2021 and requested the support of India for working towards greater maritime safety and security in the Indian Ocean region.
Prime Minister Modi congratulated Bangladesh and assured India’s cooperation in this regard.
The Bangladesh side thanked the government of India for confirming support in favour of Bangladesh’s candidate to the post of Director, South East Asian Regional Office of the WHO in 2023.
The Indian side expressed optimism that Bangladesh will join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), which will enable Bangladesh to exchange its own experiences in infrastructure risk management, standards, financing and recovery mechanism with other member countries.
The Indian side also welcomed the decision of Bangladesh to join the New Development Bank, according to the joint statement.
