Willing to discuss ongoing issues with Bangladesh: India

India is willing to discuss all issues with Bangladesh in a “conducive” environment, said Randhir Jaiswal, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, emphasising that established modalities exist between Dhaka and New Delhi that can deal with a full spectrum of bilateral relations.

The remarks came as former diplomats and experts are set to address the Standing Committee on External Affairs to discuss the “Future of the India-Bangladesh Relationship”.

Sources told The Hindu that the experts are former National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon, Lieutenant-General Ata Hasnain (retd), former High Commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das, and Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Amitabh Mattoo.

“We are prepared to engage with Bangladesh on all matters in an environment that is conducive for mutually beneficial dialogue,” Mr. Jaiswal said on Friday, responding to a question on the renewal of the Ganga Water Sharing Treaty of 1996.

Responding to another question about Bangladesh joining trilateral consultations with Pakistan and China on June 19, Mr. Jaiswal said that India maintains a “constant watch on the developments in our neighbourhood that have a bearing on our interest and our security. Our relations with individual countries, while they stand on their own footing, take into account the evolving context as well”. 

Mr. Jaiswal’s remarks came a day before the parliamentary panel holds a special discussion on Bangladesh with the four experts. According to preliminary preparation documents, the experts are expected to address questions about the political situation under the interim government led by Mohammed Yunus, the rise of religious fundamentalism, security threats to India from the turmoil in Bangladesh, and concerns over Bangladesh and China’s “strategic alignment” since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.

Amongst prescriptions, the experts will also advise the committee on India’s public perception in Bangladesh, particularly the sentiment that New Delhi is identified with the fallen government of Ms. Hasina and not with the “people of Bangladesh” .

Mr. Menon was the NSA when India and Bangladesh conducted negotiations on the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) that was sealed in 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ms. Hasina.

The panel is likely to advise the lawmakers on the need to coordinate with the U.S., EU and the U.K. on the requirement for having a credible election in Bangladesh and convince them about India’s “strategic imperative” to ensure safety of the northeast in the face of unstable Bangladesh.