Indian Envoy Meets Bangladesh Speaker, Discusses Stronger Parliamentary Ties

Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi met Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad and Deputy Speaker Kayser Kamal separately at the Jatiya Sangsad in Dhaka on Wednesday, discussing ways to strengthen parliamentary cooperation and people to people ties between India and Bangladesh.

Trivedi underlined that engagement between the two parliaments is vital to strengthening ties between the two sovereign and democratic countries, according to the Indian High Commission. Discussions covered the formation of Parliamentary Friendship Groups, reciprocal visits by parliamentary delegations under the guidance of the Speakers, cooperation between parliamentary committees and the digitisation of parliamentary records.

The Indian envoy also reiterated an invitation from Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for Bangladesh's Speaker and Deputy Speaker to visit India at their earliest convenience. Trivedi conveyed Birla's greetings and invited the Bangladeshi leaders to visit the Indian Parliament.

During his meeting with Trivedi, Speaker Hafiz Uddin said Bangladesh India relations should move forward on the basis of mutual respect, sovereignty and direct ties between the peoples of the two countries. He said bilateral relations had experienced various ups and downs and evolved according to changing circumstances.

Hafiz Uddin also said relations during the previous Sheikh Hasina government were largely centred on government to government engagement and stressed that people centric relations should form the foundation of future ties. He additionally referred to Bangladesh's political transition and the 2024 student led uprising.

Trivedi said India was interested in developing a more people centred relationship with Bangladesh and working to fulfil the aspirations of people in both countries. The two sides also exchanged views on parliamentary delegation exchanges, the Rohingya crisis and repatriation, as well as sports and cultural cooperation.

The meetings come as India and Bangladesh seek to strengthen institutional and public level engagement, with parliamentary exchanges emerging as one avenue for maintaining dialogue between the neighbouring countries.