Moni's visit may give a leg up to Indo-Bangla ties
Bangladeshi foreign minister Dipu Moni's visit to India is being seen here as an opportunity to develop convergence on long-pending issues.
By ET Bureau |
NEW DELHI: Bangladeshi foreign minister Dipu Moni's visit to India is being seen here as an opportunity to develop convergence on long-pending issues. India is keen on forward movement in anti-terror cooperation and gaining transit rights for better access to the northeast.
Sources said India was keen to narrow the gap on these two issues at a time when ties between the two countries were
on an upward trajectory.
It has been eight months since the Sheikh Hasina government came to power and a month since Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Ms Hasina on the sidelines of NAM summit in Egypt in July. Now, New Delhi is putting a lot of premium on the first bilateral visit of the Bangladeshi foreign minister during UPA���s second term in office.
Ms Moni, whose visit starts on Monday, is scheduled to hold talks with external affairs minister S M Krishna and call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The two sides are likely to address key issues at the heart of the bilateral relationship. For India, anti-terror cooperation, security, transit and illegal migration are of utmost importance.
New Delhi is expected to push for greater cooperation between the two countries to bust insurgent camps of outfits like the Ulfa and deportation of the rebel leadership hiding within the Bangladeshi territory. Sources said there is an understanding that the presence of terror groups is not in the interest of either India or Bangladesh.
New Delhi is also expected to push for transit rights for goods to the northeast. Sources said discussions with Dhaka are on and there are hopes that there will be some forward movement during the visit of the Bangladeshi foreign minister. The issue of transit rights of goods through Bangladesh to the northeast from other parts of India has been a long-pending issue between the two countries.
Sources said India was keen to narrow the gap on these two issues at a time when ties between the two countries were
on an upward trajectory.
It has been eight months since the Sheikh Hasina government came to power and a month since Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Ms Hasina on the sidelines of NAM summit in Egypt in July. Now, New Delhi is putting a lot of premium on the first bilateral visit of the Bangladeshi foreign minister during UPA���s second term in office.
Ms Moni, whose visit starts on Monday, is scheduled to hold talks with external affairs minister S M Krishna and call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The two sides are likely to address key issues at the heart of the bilateral relationship. For India, anti-terror cooperation, security, transit and illegal migration are of utmost importance.
New Delhi is expected to push for greater cooperation between the two countries to bust insurgent camps of outfits like the Ulfa and deportation of the rebel leadership hiding within the Bangladeshi territory. Sources said there is an understanding that the presence of terror groups is not in the interest of either India or Bangladesh.
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Recent reports from Dhaka suggest that terrorists have been using Bangladesh as a transit point to travel to Pakistan after carrying out terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir. A Bangladeshi daily had reported that a detained militant had told the Bangladeshi authorities that safe havens had been built in Bangladesh to train militants for terrorist operations in the South Asian region.New Delhi is also expected to push for transit rights for goods to the northeast. Sources said discussions with Dhaka are on and there are hopes that there will be some forward movement during the visit of the Bangladeshi foreign minister. The issue of transit rights of goods through Bangladesh to the northeast from other parts of India has been a long-pending issue between the two countries.
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