Hailing India for “standing beside her country during its crises,” Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday urged India to take the lead in building pressure on Myanmar for the repatriation of the Rohingya refugees.

“The Bangladesh government has given them (Rohingyas) shelter on humanitarian ground as we cannot turn our eyes away from the problem. But we want that they should return to their country as early as possible,” Ms Hasina said.

Advertisement

Inaugurating the Bangladesh Bhavan ~ a centre funded by the Bangladesh government and dedicated for cultural cooperation ~ at Visva Bharati University campus, together with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sheikh Hasina said India and Bangladesh have a cordial relationship which, she hoped, will continue to flourish.

“We shall never forget how India stood beside us during the 1971 liberation war. Together, we have resolved many bilateral issues in an amicable way for the benefit of both the countries. Although there are issues that still need to be taken care of, I do not wish to mention them at this programme,” Hasina said.

She said that Bangladesh was getting full cooperation from India, as both countries want to alleviate poverty in this region. “By 2041, we want to develop Bangladesh into a ‘Sonar Bangla’ (Golden Bangladesh,” Hasina said.
Remembering Rabindra Nath Tagore, Hasina said the bard had built the university to give shape to his ideals.

“Tagore belongs to both India and Bangladesh because he has written the national anthems of both the nations. He wrote most of his poems in Bangladesh and that is why we can claim a greater right over him,” she said adding that Tagore stands as a bridge between the two countries.

Echoing Ms Hasina on the cordial Indo-Bangladesh relationship, Mr Modi said the present time will be remembered as a golden chapter. “I am regularly in touch with Sheikh Hasinaji. Shantiniketan is equally important to both India and Bangladesh. It is above all politics.

We are also working to renovate the ancestral house of Tagore in Kuthibari in Kusthiya district of Bangladesh,” Mr. Modi said. “We have started air conditioned Bandhan Express Train services between Kolkata and Khulna since last year. The coastal shipping has also eased.

With the inauguration of the Bangladesh Bhawan on Friday a new vista will further open in the India-Bangladesh bilateral relationship. Bangabandhu Shiekh Mujibur Rahaman shared the liberal and humanist view of life,” Mr Modi said.

“Under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh is moving forward at a very rapid pace and both countries look forward to working together in space technology,” he added.

He said that Bangladesh is working hard to become a developed economy and by 2021 it will connect each household with electricity. “We are all members of International Solar Allaince and in the coming days new vistas can be opened up in solar power sector,”he added.