State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir has said Bangladesh needs to move beyond its excessive focus on India and treat New Delhi as “just another country” while maintaining good bilateral relations.
He made the remarks at a press briefing on Sunday in response to a journalist’s question about Bangladesh-India relations and whether Prime Minister of Bangladesh would meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly.
“We have to get out of the India fascination. India is just another country, and Bangladesh wants good bilateral relations with it,” Kobir said.
Responding to the continued focus on India, he said, “Breakfast in India, lunch in India, dinner in India — then when will you eat your own food?”
Kobir said Bangladesh would engage with countries through bilateral or multilateral channels whenever necessary, but it would not be possible for the prime minister to meet every country on the sidelines of a multilateral event.
“The prime minister will have many invitations and there will be discussions with many countries,” he said.
On Bangladesh-India ties, the state minister said the government wanted to rebuild the relationship after what he described as an uncomfortable period over the past 15 years under an “authoritarian, corrupt and kleptocratic government.”
He said the bilateral relationship with India should be restructured through direct bilateral engagement rather than through multilateral forums.
“The first discussion with India should ideally take place through a direct bilateral visit,” Kobir said.
However, he clarified that the government had not ruled out bilateral meetings on the sidelines of multilateral events.
“We never said that if we attend a multilateral event, we will not meet anyone,” he said, adding that his earlier comments were specifically about India.
Kobir also said the prime minister would address the UN General Assembly and present Bangladesh’s vision before the international community.
He added that the Rohingya crisis would feature prominently in high-level discussions during the UNGA.