Dhaka-Delhi relations need future-centric agenda: Verma

Bangladesh and India need a new, future-oriented agenda that is aligned with their new capabilities, aspirations and new national development priorities for engagement, said outgoing Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma.

“As the two largest economies of the region, we both have to be the anchors for closer regional integration,” he said in a farewell note sent to the media yesterday.

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Verma joined the Indian High Commission in Bangladesh on September 22, 2022, and engaged with the Awami League government, interim government and the current BNP government during his tenure.

He has been appointed the Indian envoy to Belgium and European Union.

Yesterday, he paid a farewell call on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and reaffirmed India’s willingness to deepen multifaceted engagement with Bangladesh for the mutual benefit and shared prosperity of the peoples of both countries.

The PM thanked Verma for his contributions to bilateral relations and conveyed best wishes for his next assignment.

They briefly discussed various potential areas of cooperation driven by the development priorities of the two countries.

In the farewell note, Verma said the two countries need a forward-looking agenda based on mutual interest, benefit and respect.

The geographical proximity of the two rapidly growing countries is an asset for both, and they must constantly endeavour to transform it into new opportunities, he said.

“I am hopeful that all well-wishers of India-Bangladesh relations will come together to build upon this shared vision and its realisation,” Verma also said.

Stressing that the Bangladesh-India relationship is special and unique because of close geographical proximity, cultural affinity, shared history, language, traditions, and sacrifices, Verma said the two countries share a relationship of significant interdependencies and interlinkages.

A prosperous Bangladesh is in India’s interest, as much as a prosperous India is in the interest of Bangladesh. Such connections, interdependence and mutual benefit will continue guiding and taking forward the bilateral relations, he opined.

He said as he leaves Bangladesh, he feels optimistic more than ever about future of the bilateral relationship.