Bangladesh, India will continue to work together: Kamal

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal and Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Vikram Kumar Doraiswami

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Monday said that Bangladesh and India would continue to work together so that both the countries can advance further in various fronts in the coming days.

“We’ve decided that we’ll be working together so that both India and Bangladesh can move forward further … India is our time-tested friend and they have done so much for us,” he said.

The finance minister was briefing reporters virtually after the newly-appointed Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Vikram Kumar Doraiswami made a virtual courtesy call on him.

The Indian envoy also spoke at the virtual briefing.

Talking about the outcome of the meeting, Kamal said it discussed a wide range of issues including the past history of both India and Bangladesh, the emergence of Bangladesh and subsequently the India’s support to its next-door neighbor over the years.

“I believe, if Bangladesh and India can work together and we can align our course of actions, then we can move ahead further,” he said, adding helping each other means helping both the parties.

Answering to a question, the finance minister said there is no problem between the two countries. “We don’t have any problem. We’re working very closely,” he said.

Echoing with Kamal, the Indian high commissioner said, “Working closely together doesn’t mean we have a problem. But, we want to take advantage of future pportunities … the world of finance, trade and money is changing very rapidly.”

He said that countries like India and Bangladesh have every opportunity to cooperate more closely so that both the countries can secure the interest of its own people and also to cooperate in new environment which is evolving for the benefit of both the economies.

Vikram said, “There is nothing contradictory with Bangladesh and India’s growth projections,” he said, adding, “We want to work closer together for the future.”

Asked whether there was any discussion over the progress of Indian three Line of Credit (LoC) projects, the finance minister said although there was no discussion over issue in the meeting, but there will be discussion over the Indian LoC projects likely in two to three days.

He informed that officials concerned of both sides will be sitting together to proceed further about the implementation of the Indian- supported projects.