DHAKA: India`s High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pankaj Saran opined that the relationship and spirit of good neighborliness between Bangladesh and India won’t be affected even if the power changes in any country.

The Indian envoy came up with the observation in a discussion meeting at the auditorium of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) on Monday.

Chairman of (BIISS) Munshi Faiz Ahmed, Director-General of the organization Major General (retd) SM Shafiuddin Ahmed, envoys of several countries, foreign affairs ministry officials and journalists were present at the program.

Experts said that relations between Bangladesh and India would continue in the spirit of good neighborliness even if power changes in New Delhi in the ongoing India’s Lok Sabha election.

On the other hand, Pankaj Saran said so boldly that the change of the government does not mean the change of foreign policy.

Moreover, the diplomatic relations depend on bilateral understanding and political parties’ cordiality, he added.

Indian High Commissioner further said India had been maintaining a good relationship with Bangladesh for last 40 year.

There were several governments came to power in this tenure and India always tried to keep good ties with Bangladesh, he added.

Regarding much-talked-about Teesta river treaty, he said the agreement about sharing of Teesta River waters between the neighbors was about to be done but unfortunately put on a hold at the eleventh hour.

However, the issue might be sorted out in the upcoming government’s tenure, he added.

About the land boundary issue, Pankaj Saran said a historic agreement on demarcation of land boundaries was signed in this government’s period. The agreement will resolve the decades-old border dispute between the two neighboring countries.

He also said that relationships between the two countries are better now than any other time.

Both the countries are cooperating each other on the development of trade, investment, border issues, power, cultural activities and so on, he added.

Regarding the border issue, he said Bangladesh has got a better border management than Pakistan so that the border restriction is relaxed and kept in a friendly manner to Bangladesh.

Pankaj Saran further said that additional temporary border-markets will be set up in the border areas of India’s North-Eastern states such as Tripura and Meghalaya to increase the cross-border trade.

BDST: 1750 HRS, APR 07, 2014