The process of trading in the rupee and taka, the national currencies of India and Bangladesh, will be continued and expanded gradually, Dr. Hasan Mahmud, the new foreign minister of Bangladesh, told Vygr News on his "maiden state" visit to New Delhi.
Bangladesh, which accounts for about $18 billion ($16 billion in imports from India and 2 billion in exports) in bilateral trade, has initiated trade in local currency in 2023. Speaking to Vygr News, the visiting foreign minister, followed by a meeting with External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, asserted that conducting trade in their own currencies will not just strengthen bilateral trade but also reduce dependency on a third currency, without naming the dollar.
The two friendly nations decided to settle a part of the bilateral trade as well as transactions in their own currencies to promote cross-country transactions. Following which, Bangladeshi entity Sonali Bank and one more bank opened "nostro accounts" at the State Bank of India and ICICI Bank in India last year.
On being asked about shifts on the front of diplomacy and engagement with immediate neighbours, Mahmud, an MP from Chittagong and frequent visitor to India, said the neighbours are engaged bilaterally as well as via multilateral relations through BIMSTEC, BBIN, IORA, SAARC, the Global South, the Commonwealth, the Indo-Pacific, and the UN.
"India is also a member of these forums, so our foreign policy is going through diversification," he added. He refuted the claim that Bangladesh has given any territory to China. Answering a question on Teesta river water sharing, he said the central government of India doesn't have any issue, but the objection came from the state government.
Defending his party, the Awami League, ruled the government's practices during the election, he said, "Elections were conducted in the spirit of festivity, which we can hardly find in Europe, naming a couple of countries like Hungary. Despite being the nation with the highest density and the lowest per capita arable land, Bangladesh is leading the world in agri-and garment production.
According to the minister, Bangladesh is No. 3 in rice production, No. 4 in vegetable production, No. 7 in potato production, and interestingly, it has claimed the top position in Hisla fish production.
"This is not magic." It would not have been possible without the efforts of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he added.
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(Image credit: Ayanangsha Maitra )
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