Exclusive | China ‘a friend’ but ties with India ‘at different level’: Bangladesh MoS Foreign Affairs

Ties between India and Bangladesh are in a so-called "golden phase" with New Delhi and Dhaka in recent years bolstering their relations by signing several agreements in the fields of technology, trade, and infrastructure, among others. As India takes over the presidency of the G20 forum from Indonesia, the nation has also extended an invitation to Bangladesh, a non-member state — making it the only country in South Asia to participate in the 2023 summit in New Delhi.

In an exclusive conversation with WION's principal diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, Bangladesh's state minister of Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam said that the bond shared by New Delhi and Dhaka, their leaders "Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is unparalleled, incomparable to any other achievements that bilateral neighbouring countries have made despite having some issues."

Speaking to WION on the sidelines of the sixth Indian Ocean Conference 2023 in Dhaka, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs commented on Bangladesh's ties with India vs China, how important the G20 summit invitation is, and more.

The ‘golden phase’ of the India-Bangladesh relationship and the challenges

When asked about the challenges faced by the bilateral ties between New Delhi and Dhaka, Alam said that while "neighbours will always come with challenges," the two nations share an unparalleled historical past and bond.

He said that there exists a "proper platform to discuss," the challenges, but that the "achievements have superseded much compared to the challenges."

"The takeaway from the relationship, especially (in the) last 10 years, is humongous," he added.

India-Bangladesh ties vs Bangladesh-China relations

When asked about the constant India vs China debate and which nation would Dhaka favour if it had to choose, the minister said that he believes it isn't a question about favouring, instead he said it is a bilateral issue.

Alam said that India and China are the two major economies his nation has trade imbalances with.

He said that "China is a friend to Bangladesh," in the nation's "developmental journey" and that Beijing has "achieved a lot in engineering, in commercial power, in bringing in raw materials."

According to Alam, Bangladesh is utilising imports from both India and China and "converting them into value-added products," due to which the nation has "reached a $50 billion-plus exports."

However, he added that while China is a friend, Bangladesh's "with India is at a different level because of the history."

Watch the interview here:

Bangladesh at the 2023 G20 Summit

Reiterating his gratitude to India for the invitation to the important summit, Alam said that Bangladesh's status as the only South Asian country invited goes to show "the respect in the relationship and the potential that Bangladesh can bring in the experience and stories" to the G20 table.

He added that it "goes on to inform the other nineteen (G20) members" of what Bangladesh has to offer, and would also help make sure that "countries in this other region and also LDC countries (least developed countries) are not forgotten."

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