Explore Business Standard
India-Bangladesh
Bangladesh interim government's finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed on Tuesday said Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has taken steps to ease strained ties with New Delhi while his administration was working to develop economic relations with India by separating economic interests from "political rhetoric." "The chief adviser is working to improve diplomatic relations with India, and he himself has also been speaking to various stakeholders on the issue," he told reporters after a meeting of the Advisers Council Committee on Government Purchase at his office. Asked if Yunus directly spoke to India, Ahmed said the chief adviser "has not" but he did speak to those associated with the matter. "Our trade policy is not driven by political considerations. If importing rice from India is cheaper than sourcing it from Vietnam or elsewhere, then it makes economic sense to buy the staple from India," he said. The adviser, an economist, however, expressed optimism that bilateral relations would not .
Security was beefed up outside the Bangladesh High Commission here on Tuesday ahead of a protest by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal over attacks on Hindus in the neighbouring country. The area has been secured with three layers of barricading and more force from the police and paramilitary. "We have stepped up security in view of the protest. Barricades have been put in place and forces deployed to prevent any untoward incident," a police officer said. The VHP and Bajrang Dal have announced a demonstration at the high commission building to denounce alleged atrocities against Hindus and vandalism of their religious places in Bangladesh. Several protesters were seen holding banners and placards, raising slogans at the embassy.
Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma on Sunday said New Delhi's relations with Dhaka are not transient but "everlasting", hours after Bangladesh's foreign office summoned him to express its "serious concern" over "incendiary statements" made by deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is currently in India. Hasina, 78, fled to India in August last year after her Awami League government was toppled in a violent student-led street protest and continues to stay there. She was sentenced to death by a special tribunal last month after being convicted on charges of crimes against humanity. Bangladesh has been demanding her extradition. "The bonds we share with Bangladesh are not transient; they are everlasting. A relationship forged in blood and sacrifice cannot be weakened, the envoy said, joining an event hosted by academic and cultural group Itihash O Oitijjo Parishad. Verma said India stood with the people of Bangladesh during its 1971 Liberation War and would continue to support t
A 20-member delegation from Bangladesh, including eight Muktijodhas and two serving officers of the neighbouring country's Army, will attend the Vijay Diwas celebrations here to mark the Indian Armed Forces' historic victory over Pakistan in 1971 war, a defence official said. The war, which started on December 3, ended with the surrender of Pakistan's Eastern Army on December 16 at Dhaka, leading to the birth of Bangladesh, which was earlier East Pakistan. The Bangladesh delegation, comprising eight Muktijodhas who were part of the guerrilla resistance force in East Pakistan opposing the Pakistan rule there, two serving officers of Bangladesh Armed Forces, and their family members, will attend the Vijay Diwas celebrations held by the Indian Army's Eastern Command in Kolkata every year. The delegation is scheduled to attend a solemn wreath-laying ceremony on December 16 at the Indian Army's Eastern Command headquarters, Vijay Durg here. They will also attend the military tattoo, a .
Bangladesh's former prime minister Khaleda Zia is "extremely unwell" and she has been placed on ventilation, with both local and international medical specialists overseeing her treatment, her party leaders said on Monday. Zia, the 80-year-old Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson, was admitted to a private hospital on November 23 when she developed a chest infection that affected both her heart and lungs. Four days later, the three-time prime minister was shifted to the coronary care unit after several of her health complications worsened. Her condition has deteriorated, and she was put on ventilation, BNP Vice-Chairman Advocate Ahmed Aazam Khan was quoted as saying by news portal tbsnews.net. "She is in a very critical condition. There is nothing more to do except seek prayers from the whole nation," he told reporters outside Evercare Hospital here. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also confirmed that Zia remains in a critical condition as she continues
Bangladesh on Sunday said it expects the extradition of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina from India at the "earliest", but stressed that the "issue alone" would not stand as a barrier in bilateral ties with New Delhi. The interim government's Foreign Affairs Adviser Mohammad Touhid Hossain made the remarks while talking to diplomatic reporters based in Dhaka. "I think our (bilateral) relations won't (be) stuck on one issue alone, he said, when asked if better relations with New Delhi could be expected unless India repatriates the disposed Bangladesh premier. Hossain, however, said that since Hasina was now a declared convict, Bangladesh expects her repatriation from India at the earliest possible time. The former premier was sentenced to death in absentia on November 17 by a special tribunal for "crimes against humanity" over her government's brutal crackdown on student-led protests last year. The student-led violent street protest termed the July Uprising toppled Hasina's Awa
The Md Yunus government in Bangladesh may have chosen to honour the commitment of culinary tradition and issue a notification to export hilsa to India ahead of the festive season, but fish importers in West Bengal aren't sure whether the move will broaden smiles of the average middle class waiting to savour the delight of Padmar Ilish' this Durga Puja. Fish traders on this side of the international border attribute dual factors of lower quantity of export from Bangladesh compared to previous years, as well as higher cost of imports, as reasons behind the high prices of 'rupali shosyo', which means 'silver crop'. Putting apprehensions of an export freeze on hilsa to rest, the Bangladesh government's notice on Monday stated that it has approved in-principle the conditional export of 1200 metric tonnes of hilsa to India this year, in keeping with its traditional Durga Puja gift to Bengalis in India. For this, the Md Yunus government has invited applications from interested exporters i
India on Wednesday said it was not aware of any anti-Bangladesh activities in the country by the Awami League party led by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. New Delhi's comments came after Bangladesh's interim government said that the opening of its offices by the Awami League in Indian cities could adversely impact bilateral ties. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said New Delhi is not aware of any anti-Bangladesh activities by purported members of the Awami League in India or of any action that is contrary to Indian law. "The government does not allow political activities against other countries to be carried out from Indian soil," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. "The press statement by the Interim government of Bangladesh is thus misplaced," he said. "India reiterates its expectation that free, fair and inclusive elections will be held at the earliest in Bangladesh to ascertain the will and mandate of the people," he added. In its statement, Dhaka said on Wednes