Bangladesh speaker urges people-to-people foundation for India ties

Bangladesh-India relations should be built on mutual respect, sovereignty, and stronger people-to-people ties, Bangladesh parliament speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad said Wednesday during a meeting with Indian high commissioner Dinesh Trivedi.

Hafiz Uddin said relations between the countries had experienced periods of change and argued that ties during Sheikh Hasina’s rule were largely centered on their governments.

“During Sheikh Hasina’s rule, relations between India and Bangladesh remained centred only on the governments,” he said.

Trivedi said India was interested in developing people-centered relations and strengthening exchanges between citizens.

Officials also discussed parliamentary delegation visits, Rohingya rehabilitation, sports, and cultural exchanges. Trivedi conveyed an invitation from India’s Lok Sabha speaker for Hafiz Uddin to visit India and emphasized greater exchanges between lawmakers from both countries.