‘India stands by Bangladesh in a fair election’
The Foreign Minister thanked the people and government of India for standing by Bangladesh in a free, fair, and transparent election to protect democracy in the country. Hasan Mahmud.
He said that it is true that the people and government of India stood by us during the liberation war in 1971 to protect our democracy. However, there were many conspiracies to destabilize the election process.
He said this at a media interaction at Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), a think tank based in New Delhi, on Thursday afternoon. Dr. Hasan Mahmood is in New Delhi on a three-day bilateral visit at the invitation of Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar.
Director of VIF, Dr. Arvind Gupta, moderated the event. High Commissioner of Bangladesh in India. Mustafizur Rahman was sitting on the stage. The event was attended by diplomats, research fellows, academics, and journalists.
Foreign Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud said our election was a good one in the history of Bangladesh and in the context of the Indian subcontinent. Our people freely exercised their right to vote.
On the issue of minorities in Bangladesh, he said, the minority communities of Bangladesh have been enjoying their rights because our party, the Awami League, is a secular party, and secularism is the main pillar of our party. But also, there are some fanatical forces that try to destabilize society from time to time.
He said that the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has taken strict action against those who want to destabilize society in the name of religion.
When asked about enhancing people-to-people contact, the minister said connectivity, the removal of visa process hurdles, and cultural exchange will go a long way in strengthening people-to-people contact between Bangladesh and India.
In this context, he mentioned that to get a visa, one still has to stand in long queues in front of the Indian Visa Center in Dhaka, Chittagong, and other parts of the country. I raised the matter in a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
Dr. about visa-free travel. Hasan Mahmud said, I am looking forward to those days when someone comes to the border, shows his passport, and enters the destination country.
Later in the evening, the Foreign Minister attended another media interaction on ‘Bangladesh-India Relations Today’ at the Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia (FCC, South Asia).
‘India stands by Bangladesh in a fair election’
