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FS Kwatra Meets Bangladesh PM Hasina, Assures India’s Support For Deeper Economic Partnership

February 15, 2023
Bharat Times

New Delhi: Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra called on Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday. During the conversation, he reiterated India’s support for a wider and deeper economic and development partnership with Bangladesh. Kwatra spent two days in Kathmandu, Nepal, before making his way to Dhaka on Tuesday evening.

“Foreign Secretary @AmbVMKwatra paid a courtesy call on Hon’ble Prime Minister H.E Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka. FS conveyed warm wishes of PM @narendramodi to PM H.E Sheikh Hasina and reaffirmed India’s support for wider and deeper development & economic partnership with Bangladesh,” the Indian High Commission tweeted.

Kwatra spoke with Masud Bin Momen, his Bangladeshi counterpart, earlier in the day.

“Foreign Secretary @AmbVMKwatra held Foreign Office Consultations (FOCs) with @FSMasud of Bangladesh. Both sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral partnership including political, security, trade, investment, defence, connectivity, water, power and sub-regional cooperation,” the Indian High Commission tweeted.

“Foreign Secretaries of Bangladesh and India led their respective delegations at the Foreign Office Consultation held today at FSA ( Foreign Service Academy). Both the Foreign Secretaries call for deeper collaboration between the two friendly countries,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh, tweeted.

As a result of Bangladesh’s participation as a Guest Country during India’s G20 Presidency, they also agreed to maintain close communication.

Prior to the visit, officials from the Bangladeshi foreign ministry stated that Kwatra’s scheduled talks with his counterpart were part of regular FOCs. However, it was anticipated that their meeting would partially prepare the ground for Prime Minister Hasina’s visit to New Delhi.

Kwatra’s first trip to Bangladesh since taking over as foreign secretary on May 1 of last year is this one.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy gave the visit the “highest priority.”

India’s most important development and trade partner in the region is Bangladesh.

On January 29, 2021, the final consultations with the foreign office took place in New Delhi.

Narendra Modi, her Indian counterpart and the current chair of the group of larger economies, has invited Hasina to visit India in September to attend the G-20 summit.

Hasina would attend the summit as a guest, according to officials, even though she is not a member of the G-20.

The G-20 chair traditionally invites non-member countries and international organizations to the summit, including the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Health Organization, and World Trade Organization.

From December of this year, India assumed the G-20 presidency for a year.

Bangladesh was the only South Asian nation invited to the September 9-10 summit; the other non-member nations were Egypt, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates.

On March 1-2, the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi is scheduled to include the Bangladeshi foreign minister.

The G-20 is an intergovernmental gathering of 19 nations and the European Union (EU) representing the world’s major developed and developing economies.

The members of the G20 account for approximately two-thirds of the world’s population, over 75% of global trade, and 85% of global GDP.

Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States are all members.

Kwatra’s trip to Bangladesh comes on the heels of his Tuesday return from Kathmandu, where he had gone to improve relations between India and Nepal.