Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 4: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday termed India a “decades-long trusted friend” and praised the Narendra Modi government’s gesture of providing COVID-19 vaccines to neighbouring countries and rescuing students of her country along with Indians stuck during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
In a television interview, the 74-year old Bangladesh prime minister, scheduled on a four-day visit to India from Monday, also wanted a generous settlement of her country’s “long-standing water-sharing disputes” with India to ease the problems the citizens of her country are facing.
During her visit to India, Sheikh Hasina is due to meet the president Droupadi Murmu, the vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhad and hold bilateral consultations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She had last visited India in October 2019 before the Coronavirus pandemic.
Sheikh Hasina said: “We are downstream, water is coming from India. So, India should show more generosity. Both countries would be beneficiaries. Sometimes, our people suffer a lot because of this, especially the Teesta River. We share only Ganges water but we have 54 other rivers. It’s a long-standing problem and should be resolved.”
The Bangladesh prime minister emphasised on closer cooperation between the two neighbours. There can be differences, but these should be addressed through dialogue, she said, adding that in a number of areas, India and Bangladesh had precisely done that.
She, however, marked out two areas for special praise where the Indian government’s support helped Bangladeshi citizens. One of these was the evacuation of Bangladesh students, who, like many Indians, were stuck in Ukraine and its neighbouring countries after the outbreak of the conflict.
“I really would like to express my thanks to Prime Minister that during this war between Russia and Ukraine, many of our students were just stuck, and they came to Poland for shelter. But when you evacuated your students, Indian students, they also brought our students back home. So it is really… You have shown a clearly friendly gesture. I thank Prime Minister (Modi) for this initiative,” Prime Minister Hasina said.
To another question about the Indian government’s Vaccine Maitri programme, the Bangladesh Prime Minister said it was a very “prudent” initiative taken by Prime Minister Modi. “I really thank Prime Minister Modi for this initiative, and that way he… you know, contributed vaccines to not only Bangladesh, also some south Asian countries, and it’s really very, very helpful. And it’s a really prudent initiative he has taken.
Prime Minister Hasina referred to India as a “tested” friend and said that the country had stood by Bangladesh in its hour of need, first in 1971 and then at later times also.
“We always remember their contribution during our 1971 war. And besides that, even 1975, when I lost all my family members. So, the then Prime Minister India Gandhi she gave us shelter in India. Besides that, you see, these two countries, we are neighbours, close neighbours and I always give importance and priority to friendship with our neighbouring countries,” she said.
Speaking of the ongoing Rohingya crisis, Sheikh Hasina said, “For us, it’s a big burden… On humanitarian grounds, we give them [Rohingyas] shelter and everything, but how long will they stay here? Some engage in drug or women trafficking. As soon as they return, it’s good. We are discussing it with them. India can play a big role,” she said.
She refused to comment on India – China tussle. About Dhaka’s relationship with China Hasina said her main goal was the country’s development. “Our foreign policy is very clear — friendship to all, malice to none. If there’s a problem, it’s between China and India. I don’t want to put my nose there,” she said.
“When you are living side by side, some problems will come up or remain or you can solve them. We still have issues but I think we will continue our dialogue. For our development, we need cooperation from any country which is suitable for our country,” she said.