LGRD Minister hopes to further strengthen Bangladesh-India relations

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Dr. Abdul Moin Khan has expressed his hope to further strengthen bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India by emphasizing mutual interests, cooperation and the welfare of the people of the two countries. At the same time, he emphasized on increasing cooperation in various fields including trade, economy, local government and people-to-people contact.

The LGRD Minister said these things during a courtesy call on Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi at his office at the Secretariat on Tuesday (September 1). The meeting discussed further advancing the historic and close relations between Bangladesh and India. State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam and relevant officials from both countries were present at the time.

The meeting also discussed the possibilities of free trade in addition to expanding trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. The minister said that it is possible to take bilateral relations to a new height by increasing people-to-people contact and mutual cooperation. On the other hand, High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi expressed India's interest in developing skills and exchanging experiences in the local government sector.

As part of the exchange of experience on local government management, a proposal was also made to create training opportunities for relevant officials and public representatives of Bangladesh through a training institute in Hyderabad, India. Apart from this, local government elections were also discussed in the meeting. State Minister Mir Shahe Alam said that the government aims to complete the five-tier local government elections in a free, fair and impartial manner within the current fiscal year.

After the meeting, the State Minister said that India has expressed interest in observing the local government elections in Bangladesh and discussions were also held on sending Indian observers if necessary. This issue will be discussed with the Election Commission at a later date. Both sides expressed hope to further expand Bangladesh-India cooperation in the future based on mutual interests.