Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday said collaboration among neighbors in South Asia through strategic partnership for shared peace and stability can help establish a peaceful region.
“When we think of shared prosperity, we need to take our neighbors on board,” he said.
Momen said Bangladesh has been following a policy of shared prosperity and stability as a vision for the friendly neighbours of South Asia.
Guided by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he said, they are advocating for inclusive development in the region through promotion of a culture of peace.
The Foreign Minister was speaking as the chief guest at the opening session of the 11th Bangladesh-India Friendship Dialogue -2023.
Momen reiterated that Bangladesh is “emerging” with “confidence”. “No doubt India is the most important country in the region and Bangladesh can certainly claim to be one of the most important countries in the region too.”
He said partnering of these two neighbors is important for bringing shared peace and prosperity in these countries as well as in the region.
“We stress strengthening our cooperation and collaboration with India in our journey,” Momen said.
Speaker Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. ShahriarAlam, senior Awami League leader Jahangir Kabir Nanok, MJ Akbar, former State Minister of External Affairs of government of India, among others, are attending.
India Foundation and the Bangladesh Foundation for Regional Survey (BFRS) are organizing these two events, Bangladesh-India Friendship dialogue and then Sylhet-Silchar festival.
Momen said Bangladesh-India relations are currently passing through a ‘Golden Chapter’ or ‘Sonali Adhyay’ and have emerged as a “Role Model” for “Neighborhood Diplomacy”.
The Bangladesh-India Friendship Dialogue, Track 1.5, has emerged as one of the instrumental platforms for fostering strong bilateral relations between the two neighbors.
The Dialogue, commenced 10 years ago, has flourished remarkably during the last few years as it has paved the way of incorporating both official and unofficial discussions.
Momen said they aspire to build ‘Smart Bangladesh’ with robust physical infrastructure to support a thriving economy.
“Our aspiration is to transform Bangladesh into a knowledge-based, modern, developed country by the year 2041, and fulfill the unfinished task of our Father of the Nation and dreams of three million martyrs to turn the country into “Sonar Bangla (Golden Bengal),” he said.
Momen said they need to focus particularly on five key areas.
(i) Economic cooperation:Facilitating trade and economic integration should remain a top priority. We need to explore ways to enhance bilateral trade, reduce trade barriers, and promote investment to ensure mutual prosperity. The most practical cause of action would be to set up a series of “buy-back” projects, where Indian investors will set up industries in Bangladesh and re-export to India and in some other neighboring countries.
