Bangladesh’s new overseas minister Hasan Mahmud on Monday appreciated India’s stance over its election that reinstalled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ruling Awami League social gathering for the fourth consecutive time period whereas the polls had been boycotted by main opposition BNP.
“India stood beside us in our efforts to take care of the continuity of the democratic course of, and so they stay beside us (on this regard),” Mahmud informed reporters after Indian Excessive Commissioner Pranay Verma referred to as on him.
Mahmud mentioned there have been conspiracies to tamper with the 2014 elections and “efforts had been made to make the 2018 elections controversial and questionable and through each occasions India was on our aspect.”
“You all know India’s place within the elections this 12 months too,” he mentioned following the assembly, which was Mahmud’s first diplomatic engagement after assuming the cost of the overseas ministry. Mahmud anticipated New Delhi’s continued help for its next-door neighbour and emphasised increasing the ties by way of higher connectivity, enterprise, digital financial system and people-to-people contact.
Main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Occasion (BNP) of ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia boycotted the January 7 polls saying that no election beneath Hasina’s authorities can be truthful and credible.
The BNP had demanded the polls-time non-party caretaker authorities for election oversight.
The Western powers, together with the USA, earlier referred to as for credible and inclusive polls and after the January 7 election they agreed to proceed bilateral relations however expressed their reservation concerning the voting saying it was not free and truthful.
The US State Division mentioned Washington was involved by studies of vote irregularities and condemned violence that befell.
The US State Division added: America shares the view with different observers that these elections weren’t free or truthful and we remorse that not all events participated.”
The UK mentioned: Democratic elections rely on credible, open, and truthful competitions (and) respect for human rights, rule of legislation and due course of are important components of the democratic course of.”
These requirements weren’t constantly met through the election interval. We’re involved on the vital variety of arrests of opposition social gathering members earlier than polling day, the UK assertion mentioned.
India earlier referred to as the Bangladesh election an inside matter whereas it was one of many first nations to welcome Hasina’s new authorities when Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Hasina to congratulate on her historic election victory.
Modi informed Hasina that New Delhi was dedicated to additional strengthening the partnership with Bangladesh in numerous sectors.
Bangladesh’s new authorities additionally drew congratulations from China, Russia and nearly all Center Jap nations together with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Iran.
In her first media look, Hasina additionally referred to as India a fantastic pal, recalling that it stood by Bangladesh in its 1971 Liberation Battle, and sheltered her following the 1975 assassination of her father and nation’s founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
” We had some bilateral points with India, however solved them throughout the desk … (I) count on to resolve the remaining as nicely,” she mentioned.
Mahmud mentioned he obtained an invite from his Indian counterpart Dr. S Jaishankar and anticipated New Delhi to be his first vacation spot for a bilateral go to at a handy time. He, nonetheless, is ready to go to Uganda to hitch the Non-Aligned Motion Summit, a multilateral occasion, this week.
A overseas ministry assertion, in the meantime, mentioned through the assembly Mahmud expressed satisfaction with the present bilateral relations between the 2 closest neighbours and hoped to work carefully with India within the coming days. “He (Mahmud) emphasised the engaged on the renewal of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, which can expire in 2026. He additionally emphasised on resolving the pending points amicably,” learn the assertion.
Previous to the polls, Mahmud had emphasised the “wonderful relationship” his nation had with India. “It has scaled new heights beneath the management of Prime Ministers Sheikh Hasina and Narendra Modi. We cooperate on a number of fronts. Simply 14 years in the past, if anyone would talk about transit, folks in our nation would contemplate that to be anti-state. Now transit is a actuality. Individuals have understood transit is helpful for the nation and the area. Simply 15 years in the past, it was unthinkable that electrical energy can be produced in India and can be equipped to Bangladesh. However that is the truth now. Bangladesh has additionally supplied India the usage of Chittagong and Mongla ports,” Mahmud informed THE WEEK in an earlier interview.
In the meantime, the Indian envoy congratulated the overseas minister and termed 2023 as one of the crucial profitable years in Dhaka-Delhi ties citing a number of notable achievements just like the inauguration of some tasks associated to connectivity and energy.
