International Desk:
Efforts must be made to improve relations with Bangladesh: Former Indian National Security Advisor
Former National Security Advisor of India MK Narayanan has said that India should try to improve its relations with neighboring Bangladesh and India and Bangladesh must be good friends. He also said that no outside party should be allowed to interfere in the India-Bangladesh relations.
According to the Indian Express, former National Security Advisor MK Narayanan expressed concern over the ongoing political unrest in neighboring Bangladesh on Friday. He stressed the importance of India-Bangladesh relations. Apart from this, he also talked about India-China and India-Pakistan relations. In this regard, he stressed on peace and diplomatic solutions.
Narayanan, 91, was speaking at a programme titled ‘Global and Regional Geopolitics, Security and Economics in a World of Uncertainty’ organised by the India Chambers of Commerce and Research Centre for Eastern and North Eastern Studies-Kolkata (SENERS-K) in Kolkata.
On the situation in Bangladesh, Narayanan said, “I don’t think anyone knows what is happening in Bangladesh at present. India and Bangladesh should be friends… good friends. I hope that efforts will be made to improve relations and restore them to their former state.”
Narayanan also said, “India is very strong today… it can give Bangladesh whatever it wants. Bangladesh has internal problems and I hope India can extend a helping hand. Bangladesh is an important part of our friendly neighbourhood. Neighbours have problems. India is a big country, so it has to be open-minded in dealing with problems.’
He also said, ‘I don’t think India and Bangladesh can ever be unfriendly to each other and we should not let any other country interfere. India and Bangladesh have a lot in common in terms of language, history, etc.’ Narayanan called ‘the situation in Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina’s departure a big setback for India.’ He added, ‘We must fix this situation.’
On China, Narayanan said, ‘We need peace with China, not conflict. The Northeast issue has to be dealt with diplomatically.’
