India-Bangladesh ties: Dinesh Trivedi meets PM advisor Mohd Ismail Zabihullah, discusses Ganga water sharing
Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, and Bangladesh prime minister’s advisor, Mohd Ismail Zabihullah. (Image courtesy: X/@ihcdhaka)
New Delhi: Trade, water-sharing and border security figured prominently in talks between Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, and Bangladesh prime minister’s advisor, Mohd Ismail Zabihullah, in Dhaka on Monday. The two officials also discussed ways to improve communication and take forward bilateral relations.
Zabihullah called for reducing Bangladesh’s trade deficit with India and ensuring the country’s fair share of the waters of the Ganga. He also said bringing border killings down to zero was important for improving understanding between the people of the two neighbouring countries, BSS News reported.
Trivedi highlighted the historical and cultural links between India and Bangladesh and referred to the strong demand for Bangladeshi hilsa in India. He also called for the resumption of training and skill-development programmes between the public administrations of the two countries, while expressing hope that bilateral cooperation would expand in areas of mutual interest.
The meeting was part of a wider round of engagements by Trivedi with Bangladeshi officials in recent days. The Indian high commission in Dhaka said the discussions also emphasized the role of people-to-people ties in India-Bangladesh relations and the need for both countries to maintain a forward-looking approach based on mutual trust and mutual benefit.
Culture has been another important area of the high commissioner’s outreach. On Sunday, Trivedi met Bangladesh’s minister of cultural affairs, Nitai Roy Chowdhury, and discussed exchanges involving classical music, folk art, heritage conservation, institutional partnerships and joint cultural programmes.
The discussions also included plans linked to celebrations marking the 127th birth anniversary of poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. Bangladesh’s minister of state for cultural affairs, Ali Nawaz Mahmud Khayyam, attended the meeting, which focused on using cultural exchanges to deepen the historic connections between the two countries.
Trivedi also held talks with Bangladesh’s environment, forest and climate change minister, Abdul Awal Mintoo, on wildlife conservation and habitat protection. The two sides discussed further cooperation on transboundary pollution and other environmental issues, with Bangladesh state minister, Shaikh Faridul Islam, also present.
His recent meetings have also extended to Bangladesh’s parliament, where Trivedi separately met speaker, Hafiz Uddin Ahmad and deputy speaker, Kayser Kamal last week. The discussions focused on parliamentary exchanges, with the high commissioner stressing that regular contact between the two legislatures can help strengthen ties between the two countries.
