Sheikh Hasina on Bangladesh balancing trade with India, China: ‘Foreign policy is clear’
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on Sunday, asserted that her country chooses a balanced approach regarding the India-China relationship
Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asserted that her country chooses a balanced approach regarding the India-China relationship and added she does not put her nose between the two countries. PM Hasina stressed that her foreign policy is quite clear: “friendship to all, malice to none”. When asked about the way she balances trade between the world’s most populous countries, Hasina said she does not want to interfere in the matter and underscored her main agenda has always been focused on the development of Dhaka.
“Our foreign policy is very clear- friendship to all, malice to none. If there’s a problem, it’s between China and India. I don’t want to put my nose there. I want my country’s development,” she told ANI News Editor Smita Prakash in an interview ahead of her four-day visit to New Delhi.
Further, she maintained that she follows the ideology of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was the founding Father of Bangladesh and served as the first President and later as the Prime Minister of the country from 1971 until his assassination in August 1975. Recalling her father’s suggestions, Hasina said she also focused her governance on people and the idea to improve their life.
“We are focused on people; how to provide a better life and how to improve their life. I believe, there is only a single enemy and that is ‘poverty’. We should work together to eradicate poverty. It is there in many South Asian countries including China, India, and everywhere. Wherever there are downtrodden people, we should focus on improving their lives; fulfilling their basic needs,” she stressed.
India-China deteriorating relation
It is worth noting that both India and China share a border and have umpteen numbers of issues. The relations between the two nations started deteriorating in mid-June 2020 when the troops of both sides engaged in a standoff at several friction points in eastern Ladakh. Since the stand-off began, both countries engaged in several rounds of high-level military talks but are yet to make any breakthrough in ending the stand-off. The last round of India-China high-level military talks took place last month but failed to ease the deadlock.
Image: AP
