Bangladesh
Hasina Modi Meeting Bangladesh national election not discussed in Hasina-Modi meeting: Momen
Own Correspondence, Dhaka, 9 September 2023: The bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not discuss any issues related to the upcoming national elections in Bangladesh. Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen said this in a press conference organized after Hasina-Modi meeting in New Delhi on Friday night.
He said that there was no discussion between the two Prime Ministers about the upcoming general elections in Bangladesh and the Indo-Pacific issue. Nobody wants instability in this region including Bangladesh.
Momen said the people of Bangladesh do not want to go back to the bad times after 2001, when the BNP-Jamaat coalition government championed corruption five times, spawned militancy, bomb attacks across the country, grenade attacks on August 21 and bombings of judges in courtrooms.
In response to a question, the foreign minister said that he did not know whether the issue of elections was discussed in the private meeting between the heads of government of the two neighboring countries held at the residence of the Prime Minister of India.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived in Delhi on Friday to attend the G-20 Summit-2023 at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mentioning that the people have confidence in the Awami League government, Momen said that the common people and businessmen of the country are happy with the various steps taken by the current government. In response to another question, he said that people will resist if someone tries to rig the next general election.
Responding to a question about BNP's demand for elections under a caretaker government, the foreign minister said caretaker government is not in the constitution of Bangladesh and it is not a matter of discussion. He said that everyone should be committed to make the upcoming general elections impartial, credible and fair and free from violence.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, Foreign Secretary (Senior Secretary) Masood Bin Momen and Prime Minister's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim were present at the press conference.
According to a press release of the Ministry of External Affairs of India, in the bilateral meeting, the two leaders discussed the overall issues of bilateral cooperation including political and security cooperation, border management, trade and connectivity, water resources, power and energy, development cooperation, culture and people-to-people ties. It said that the current development of the region and cooperation in multilateral forums were also discussed in the meeting.
