"Delhi to extend all-out support to Dhaka over Rohingya crisis"

Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Sunday said his country will extend all-out support to Bangladesh to overcome the Rohingya crisis.

“This is not only Bangladesh’s crisis. Instead, it is the crisis of the whole world,” he added.

Shringla came up with the remarks while talking to reporters at the Secretariat after a meeting with disaster management and relief minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya in the morning.

The Indian envoy said the entire world still has a lot to do for over one million Rohingyas who fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar.

Speaking at another event in the capital in the afternoon, Shringla recalled that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Bangladesh in June 2015 had said that India and Bangladesh are not just next to each other but also together.

The high commissioner said agricultural and processed food products have great potential for bilateral trade between the two countries.

Shringla was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Indian Agro Products Buyer-Seller Meet at Pan Pacific Sonargaon in the capital. 

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) organised the event.

State Minister for Finance MA Mannan addressed the ceremony as the chief guest.

President of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) Md Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, President of India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries (IBCCI) Abdul Matlub Ahmad, Assistant General Manager of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) Sunita Rai and its Assistant General Manager Surender Pal, among others, spoke on the occasion.

Shringla said India and Bangladesh can meet each other’s needs as there are complementarities in the agro products grown or processed in the two countries.

Indian and Bangladeshi companies can also collaborate together to form joint ventures in the field of food processing, he continued.

“I am happy to note that Star Consortium from Bangladesh has signed an agreement in February 2018 in Gujarat to bring onion cold storage facility with world class technology to Bangladesh,” he added.

The Indian envoy said with 180 million hectares of agricultural land, India produces a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, cereals and other agricultural products, which are exported through a well established supply chain from farm to ports.

India also has a large food processing industry and is amongst the ten leading exporters of food and food products in the world, he noted.

Shringla mentioned that Bangladesh meets a large part of its domestic demand for products such as cereals, fruits and vegetables, sugar, fodder etc. through imports.

Indian suppliers can play an important role in supplying agricultural produce Bangladesh requires at economical prices, he said.

Indian suppliers can also meet the demand for these products by Bangladesh’s growing food processing industry which is estimated to be worth around US$ 2.5 billion, he continued.

The Indian diplomat also said processed food products from Bangladesh have also gained a foothold in the Indian market.

Products of Pran Group are already quite popular in the northeastern states of India and are also making an entry in other parts of the country, he maintained.

“Let me also mention here that Indian authorities have started accepting test certificates issued by the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution for 21 food products exported by Bangladesh companies to India,” he added.

A total of 20 Indian companies participated in the event on Sunday and showcased their products.

The product profile of these companies includes both agricultural products and intermediate and finished food products.