March 5, 2025
DHAKA – Dhaka wants a good working relationship with New Delhi and hopes the Indian high commission will soon resume issuing visas to Bangladeshis, said Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain yesterday.
“We have always said we want a good working relationship with India — we have a clear position on it,” he told reporters at the foreign ministry.
Both countries want to maintain a good relationship, and Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus made it clear in his interview with BBC Bangla, he added.
Asked if there is any update on when the Indian High Commission would resume visa services, he said it was the sovereign decision of the Indian government and he could not comment on it.
India has stopped issuing visas for Bangladeshis since the ouster of former Sheikh Hasina on August 5 following a mass uprising.
Asked if Bangladesh and China are working on the Teesta water management project, Touhid said any project can be implemented under the memorandum of understanding between the two countries.
However, there has been no particular discussion on Teesta, he said.
Touhid also said there is no possibility of US-Bangladesh relations worsening over President Donald Trump’s February 20 remark about a US $29 million USAID-funded democracy promotion project in Bangladesh.
Trump claimed that USAID provided the funds to an organisation owned by two individuals in Bangladesh. However, the foreign ministry investigated and found the allegation untrue.