Bangladesh Army Chief Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman has said that India is a very important neighbor for his country and that it is imperative for the two nations to have relations based on equity. In an interview with the Bangladeshi news agency, Gen Zaman underscored Bangladesh’s relation with India in different sectors and reassured that Dhaka would not do anything that is counter to the strategic interests of New Delhi.
“India is one of the closest countries and neighbors that they have, and to some extent, we depend on India. Similarly, India stands to gain a lot from being in a relationship with us. There is documented news of them working in Bangladesh – both on a legal basis and otherwise, and Bangladesh is a neighboring country; a good number of people from Bangladesh visit India for treatment. We purchase many products from them. So, India wants more stability in its neighbor, Bangladesh. This is a quid pro quo situation which can only be built on the principle of reciprocity,” he said in the interview, translated as per the occasion.
Zaman’s remarks follow rocky relations between the two nations due to the formation of a caretaker administration in Bangladesh by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. India expresses fears over attacks on Bangladesh’s Hindu community and athe rrest of Bangladeshi monk Chinmoy Krishna Das on charges of sedition.
However, due to these difficulties, Zaman restated the Bangladeshi commitment to defending India’s strategic assets. He remembered erstwhile Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s tough moves in flushing out anti-India insurgent groups from the northeast that used to have training camps in Bangladesh. “We will never do anything with our neighbor that violates its strategic interests,” he emphasized again.
Although the political relationship between India and Bangladesh has not been quite rosy in the past and at present, there is a realization that both countries need each other, especially in matters of security, trade, and people contact. Mr Zaman emphasized that the attempts to forge a stronger bilateral partnership remain high despite existing tensions in diplomatic relations.
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