Sheikh Hasina says she will not “put her nose” in the middle of India China relations, calling Bangladesh’s relationship with the former as cordial and healthy.
- Sheikh Hasina says she will not “put her nose” in the middle of India China relations and calls Bangladesh’s relationship with the former as cordial and healthy. She added that the main focus should be people and that their common enemy is poverty.
- She is scheduled to visit India between September 5 and 8, during which she will meet President Droupadi Murmu and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar while holding bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina confronted a diplomatic quandary as she addressed the question on balancing Bangladesh’s relationship with India and China. In an interview with ANI ahead of her visit to India, Hasina said that Bangladesh’s foreign policy is “friendship for all, malice to none”. She further stated that the focus should be more on improving the lives of people, adding that if the countries have a common enemy, it is poverty.
She recalled the role of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in shaping Bangladesh’s foreign policy, Hasina said that, “Our foreign policy is very clear. Friendship for all, malice to none, which my father, the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, uttered in his address in UNO. And we thus, follow his ideology”
Sheikh Hasina stated that the leading countries should always choose to address their differences and disputes through dialogue and added that she will not interfere with India-China issues.
On Sunday, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called India a ‘trusted friend’ and said that the ‘long standing’ water-sharing dispute between the two nations should be resolved to ease the issues being faced by the citizens. While addressing the matter on China’s relationship with India and China, Hasina said that Bangladesh’s foreign policy is “friendship for all, malice to none”.
The Bangladesh prime minister is currently scheduled to visit India between September 5 and 8, during which she is to meet with President Droupadi Murmu and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar while holding bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“We are downstream while water is coming from India. Therefore, India should show more generosity. Both countries would come out to be beneficiaries. Often, our people suffer a lot due to this, especially because of the Teesta River. We found that PM Modi is rather eager to solve this issue but the decision lies with your country. We share Ganges water but we have 54 rivers as well. It is a long-standing problem and must be resolved,” she said.
“Our foreign policy is very clear, which is: friendship to all, malice to none. If there is a problem, it is between China and India and I don’t wish to put my nose there,” she added. Sheikh Hasina said that the leading countries should choose to address their differences and disputes through dialogue, adding that she won’t interfere with India-China matters.
“And I always feel that yes, if there is any problem between China and India… I don’t want to put my nose into that. I want for the development of my country and because India is our next-door neighbour, we have a very healthy relationship. We have had many bilateral problems. It is true and we have solved many problems… you know that,” she said.
Reacting to Bangladesh’s relations with China, she said that her main goal is the country’s development. “My point is that we need to focus on our people. How are we going to give them a better life? How are we going to improve their lives? And I am always stating that we have only one enemy. That enemy is poverty. So let us work together,” she added.
She went on to praise the relationship between the two countries since Bangladesh’s formation. “Even in 1975, when I lost all my family members, the then-Indian Prime Minister gave us shelter in India,” Sheikh Hasina said.
