India’s envoy has said his country will not allow its territory to be used for any activity that harms Bangladesh because Delhi wishes to see a “stable, peaceful” neighbour.
Its High Commissioner in Dhaka Pankaj Saran’s comment came after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said in an interview to Kolkata-based newspaper Anandabazar Patrika that she expected India to take tough measures to combat terrorism similar to those taken by Bangladesh.
The PM made the comment as Indian intelligence claimed that the recent explosion at a house in Burdwan, in the state of West Bengal, was linked to outlawed Bangladeshi militant outfit ‘Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh’.
Bangladesh, especially under the Awami League-led government, has been hailed for not allowing any anti-India activities on its soil.
The High Commissioner was speaking at the golden jubilee celebration of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme in Dhaka on Sunday.
President Md Abdul Hamid was present as the chief guest.
The High Commissioner said India “deeply” valued its relations with Bangladesh and “lauds the progress made by the people of Bangladesh in several walks of life, especially under the leadership of Her Excellency Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina”.
He said India also wished “to see a stable, peaceful and prosperous Bangladesh”.
“We will not allow our territory to be used for any activities that are harmful to the welfare of Bangladesh,” he said.
“We value our cooperation and tradition of regular consultations on issues which affect our mutual well-being and security.”
Media, earlier, quoting India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials reported that JMB, setting up bases in West Bengal, planned to kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP chief Khaleda Zia simultaneously create total chaos in Bangladesh.
Hasina said in her interview Bangladesh felt “bad when we come to know that militants are conspiring against Bangladesh, the (Bangladesh) government and the people by taking shelter in the very same West Bengal (that had been a source of support).”
She expected the people of West Bengal, who had extended all possible support to Bangladesh during its 1971 Liberation War, would not “tolerate it”.
“We flushed out Indian militants from Bangladesh’s soil. Many (militants) had influential friends. But we haven’t spared anyone,” she had said.
The Indian High Commissioner on Sunday said as close neighbours with “civilisational ties of history, culture, heritage, language and custom, we have a special responsibility to be equal partners and friends in all walks of life”.
He highlighted the ITEC programme through which a number of Bangladeshi professionals received training and education in different Indian institutes.
President Hamid said Bangladesh attached “great important” to relations with India, a close neighbour and “time-tested friend”.
He said the scholarship programmes were the demonstration of India’s “genuine commitment” to other countries.
The ITEC programme has been New Delhi’s flagship foreign training scheme since 1964.
The aim of the programme is ‘capacity building in developing countries’, under which it offers 280 short, medium and long-term courses every year for 160 countries.
Bangladesh is an important ITEC partner country and the number of scholarships has been doubled to 215 in 2014 from 100 every year since 2007.
The High Commissioner said this programme had shown “not just by word but also deed the true meaning of South-South cooperation”.
“We want to learn from each other and exchange experiences and our successes”.
The celebration also drew other scholars who received education and training with India’s various scholarship programmes including those of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).
The celebration that drew nearly 1,000 alumni also marked the ‘ICCR Day’.
Common music and dances of both sides and reminiscing by the alumni marked the celebration at the Bangabandhu International Convention Centre held amid strikes called by the Jamaat-e-Islami.
The High Commissioner cited commonalities between the countries and said “we both wish to transform our economies and societies, and we want to put people at the heart of our development strategy”.
Besides the ITEC programme, about 200 scholars under the Technical Cooperation Scheme of the Colombo Plan have gone for training since 2007.
The scholars are from various fields such as ministries of agriculture, public administration, finance, education, tourism, ICT, defence and also civil service officers.
Besides, the scholars have also been from non-government bodies such as chambers of commerce and industry, universities, private companies, and institute of diploma engineers.
The more popular areas of study have been advanced computing, information technology, English language, micro and small industries, teachers training, labour studies and textile research, the High Commissioner said.
Alumni of three categories of the ICCR scholarship scheme – Muktijoddha scholars and the youths who visited India on government’s invitation – also joined the celebration.
India has also invited 300 Bangladeshi youths, in three phases and as many years, to visit the country.
“These are concrete examples that show how training, skill development, capacity building and sharing of experiences form the core of our development partnership philosophy,” Saran said.
He, however, said the development was aimed at building local capacity and making cooperation “a two-way street”.
In this regard, he mentioned many Indian students who are studying in Bangladesh, particularly medicine.
Source: bdnews24
