Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pankaj Saran on Friday said Bangladesh and India should work jointly as they need to ‘grow and prosper’ together as next door neighbours.
“We’ve made considerable progress in the last few years and we hope, in the coming years, this relationship will continue to grow, expand and deeper,” he said while addressing the council of Bangladesh-India Friendship Society at Dhaka University’s Senate Bhaban.The Indian diplomat said a message should be spread in both parts of the border that Bangladesh and India will have to prosper and grow together for peace and prosperity for the countries and the region.
“Friendship between India and Bangladesh is good for the people of Bangladesh, it’s good for people of India and it’s good for region,” Pankaj said.
Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, Convener of the Society Prof Dr AK Azad Chowdhury, DU Vice Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique and Society member secretary Subir Kushari, among others, spoke on the occasion.
Appreciating the role of Bangladesh-India Friendship Society, Pankaj said they must have an equally powerful and influential society like this also in India so that the message of friendship and peace can be communicated on both sides of the border.
On the formation of new government in India, the envoy said, “Today is the historic day in India. The people of India have voted and the results of the elections are expected later today. We believe, in a next few days a new government will be formed.”
He said there might have differences between the two countries but those differences must be addressed through mutual discussions.
The diplomat also said everything is interconnected today and India and Bangladesh through this interconnection must make the full use of it and benefit and enrich the two societies.
Pankaj also said today there is a new generation that has been born in India and Bangladesh which did not participate in the War of Liberation and independence, and the new generation needs to be informed about the deeper friendship between the two countries and find ways to carry it forward.
He laid emphasis on people-to-people contacts and exchanges between the two countries to strengthen ties further in the coming days. – UNB
