Cancellation of Visits: Won’t affect Delhi-Dhaka relations
India yesterday sought to play down the recent cancellation of visits by Bangladesh foreign and home ministers and of the Joint River Commission delegation saying the “close bilateral relationship” should not be “defined” in terms of the postponement of visits.
On the cancellation of the visit by Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, Raveesh Kumar, spokesman of the external affairs ministry, told reporters in India that over 75 dialogue mechanisms with Bangladesh “are taking place. These are decided through mutual consultations.”
Momen was supposed to attend the sixth Indian Ocean Dialogue in New Delhi, while Khan was supposed to visit Meghalaya last week.
Kumar added, “Our understanding is that the relationship as close as between our two countries should not [be] defined in terms of a postponement of a visit here or there… In any case, Bangladesh has explained why the visits have been postponed.
“In fact, the Bangladesh foreign minister has issued a statement [on] why the Joint Water Commission was postponed and he essentially says that it was postponed because they did not have the data from the six common rivers…”
The six rivers are Muhuri, Monu, Dharla, Khowai, Gumti and Dudhkumar.
Regarding the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens, Kumar said that Bangladesh understands that what is happening is India’s internal matter.
“We are enjoying excellent relations with Bangladesh.”
He further said the two countries are keen to work together to further deepen our partnership in the future.
“We have been very successful in our efforts to strengthen the relationship,” he remarked.
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