By Indo-Asian News Service
Dhaka: India has welcomed the growing opportunities of economic cooperation among South Asian nations and hopes these would help depart from “sterile patterns” of relationships hampered by “political factors.”
For this to accelerate and succeed, it was necessary that political parties resolve their problems mutually by dialogue and discussion rather than allow “external intervention or pressure”, India’s Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said here Wednesday.
His message was to the parties in Bangladesh, where economic cooperation has been hampered by “political factors”.
Menon, at a seminar on “Creating an Asian Identity”, did not mention the largest foreign investment proposal that Bangladesh has received from India’s Tata group for $3 billion, put on the hold for long.
The foreign secretary, who was here for bilateral talks, told the gathering: “Businessmen from both countries are increasingly discovering that it is more convenient to procure goods and services from each other, rather than from distant sources.
“I am particularly pleased by the sharp increase in Bangladesh’s exports to India in the last two years.”
He said that South Asia “is today one of the fastest growing regions of the world” and this meant tremendous opportunity for all nations. But the opportunity had to be seized.
“It is natural for close neighbours to have problems. Intimacy is not always easy,” New Age newspaper quoted him as saying.
Attaching the utmost importance to “strengthening friendly and cooperative ties” with Bangladesh, Menon added: “A peaceful, stable, democratic, secular and prosperous Bangladesh is in India’s own national interest.”
He also maintained that New Delhi wanted to review the whole range of relations with Dhaka to remove complications and resolve outstanding issues for improving what he called “physical, economic and mental connectivity”.
Menon noted that the progress for generating a South Asian community has been uneven and hampered by the political factors.
“Fortunately there is recognition today of an opportunity to break out of the sterile patterns of some of our relationships in South Asia, and to put in place the building blocks of a true South Asian community.
“This opportunity arises because of changes in India, changes in our neighbours, and a relatively benign international environment.”
Dwelling on the challenging issues of the region, he pointed out that a community feeling in the region could not be achieved if terrorism and the politics of hate and confrontation continue.
Menon pointed out that political transition had also posed a threat for the people of the region. “Many of us are in the midst of political and socio-economic change. It is for each of our countries to choose its own political path, but these choices also have broader consequences and effects.”
On New Delhi’s role in political development across the region, Menon said: “India will not interfere in the internal affairs of her neighbours, believing that decisions on their own future are best taken by the people of these countries themselves through free, fair and democratic political processes.”