Indian envoy stresses sovereignty, dialogue in Bangladesh ties
Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi today said India’s relationship with Bangladesh does not depend on Dhaka’s ties with other countries, stressing mutual respect, sovereign decision-making and continuous dialogue to resolve bilateral issues.
“As far as we are concerned in India, the relationship doesn’t depend on what relation Bangladesh has with other countries,” he said at a discussion during the ongoing Bay of Bengal Conversation in Dhaka.
The session, titled “Power and Prudence: Managing Great-Power Competition without Conflict”,
examined ways to manage strategic rivalry and reduce the risk of escalation amid growing geopolitical uncertainty.
Trivedi said Bangladesh, as an independent and sovereign country, understands its security interests and has the right to make its own decisions.
“Bangladesh is an absolutely independent country and people have elected democratically. So whatever decision Bangladesh takes is the decision of Bangladesh government,” he said.
“Nobody should tell Bangladesh what they should do,” the envoy added, stressing that both countries have the right to protect their respective national interests.
He said neighbours should support each other during calamities or security challenges while respecting each other’s sovereignty and domestic policies.
“At the same time, no neighbour has any reason to interfere in each other’s policies,” he said.
Responding to questions, Trivedi called for sustained engagement on outstanding bilateral issues, including water, trade, culture, sports, communication and transportation, through appropriate forums.
“There’s no point hiding the issues, and there’s no point not talking about the issues,” he said.
The high commissioner said dialogue must remain continuous, noting that although bilateral engagement might progress slowly, the process had not stopped.
“I can guarantee you, there is no stoppage of process. The process is ongoing,” he said.
“Believe me, there has to be a solution, and there will be a solution,” he added.
Acknowledging that disagreements are inevitable between neighbouring democracies, Trivedi said trust must underpin efforts to resolve them.
“Issues can only and only be settled through dialogue, through consultation. And the basis of that dialogue is trust,” he said.
The envoy described Bangladesh-India relations as extending beyond transactional exchanges, rooted in deep cultural and historical bonds.
“We go through not only transactional relationship, it is much beyond which is cultural. And that cultural bond is very, very foundationally solid,” he said.
Trivedi, who said he comes from West Bengal, referred to the shared legacy of Rabindranath Tagore as an illustration of the relationship’s cultural foundation.
He expressed confidence that strong people-to-people connections would continue to underpin bilateral relations.
“I have full confidence that it’s here to stay,” he said.
Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies President Maj Gen (Retd) ANM Muniruzzaman, former Indian Army commander Arun Kumar Sahni, Georgetown University Professor Carol Christine Fair and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality mayor’s foreign relations adviser Mustafa Osman Turan also participated in the discussion.
Faris Hadrovic, managing director of Cnsltng-Bsnss-Dvlpmnt, Bosnia and Herzegovina, moderated the session.
Turan, a former Turkish ambassador to Bangladesh, said strategic autonomy does not simply mean sitting in the middle.
