India today impressed upon Bangladesh the importance for the two countries of nurturing and upholding the spirit of the 1971 liberation war, especially at a time when radical and anti-liberation forces try to destabilise this region for their own interests.

”Effective management of our border is key to facilitating economic linkages and people-to-people contact. We need to work closely to strengthen border infrastructure to ensure smooth transit of goods and people while ensuring that illegal activities are kept under check,” Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said at the 10th India-Bangladesh Friendship Dialogue.

”As Bangladesh commemorates fifty years of its independence, I am happy to note that its growth has proven its detractors wrong. Bangladesh has emerged as a role model for strong socio-economic growth. The growth of Bangladesh is not just in the interest of the people of Bangladesh, but equally, in the interest of the region and beyond,” he said.

Shringla noted that the two-way trade between the two countries in the recent past has witnessed a quantum jump with exports from Bangladesh, for the first time, expected to cross $ 2 billion this year. ”Early conclusion of a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement is vital to enhancing this momentum in trade,” he added.

Another area, he said, which needs concerted focus was connectivity. ”We have made some progress here but there is a need to make more effective and sustained efforts.”

Shringla noted that Bangladesh has historically been an important trade and transportation hub for the subcontinent. India and Bangladesh, he said, have signed an ‘Agreement on the Use Chattogram and Mongla Ports for Transshipment of Goods to and from North East of India’. Fully operationalising this agreement would bring economic benefits to a range of stakeholders from both countries.

While North East India, he said, would benefit from the steady supply of goods, the transport and logistics sector in Bangladesh would gain considerably, bringing prosperity on both sides of the border.

The top Indian diplomat also spoke about how the two countries cooperated closely during the COVID-19 pandemic. ”We assisted each other through the supply of essential medicines during the different waves of the pandemic. India provided medical oxygen to Bangladesh through special Oxygen Express trains of the Indian Railways.