Shawdesh desk:

Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday lauded Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her zero-tolerance against terrorism that brought forth peace and security in the entire South Asian region, especially to the north-eastern states of India.

Talking with visiting Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen in New Delhi, he also expressed his satisfaction for the excellent bilateral relationship between the two countries, which has been strengthened in the recent years.

The Vice President also stated that the relationship between Bangladesh and India is based on mutual trust and Bangladesh occupies a special place at the foreign policy outlook of India, as both the countries are linked by shared history, culture, tradition, language and common values.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, who is now in India, also called on other cabinet Ministers including the Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles and Minister of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Housing and Urban Affairs of the Government at their respective offices in New Delhi.

Momen led the Bangladesh delegation in the 7th JCC meeting held in New Delhi on Sunday (June 19), co-chaired by the two Foreign Ministers of Bangladesh and India. Foreign Minister held a substantive and fruitful meeting with his counterpart and other dignitaries of the Government of India.

Momen co-chared the 7^th round of Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi on Sunday. Foreign Minister Momen expressed his satisfaction on the successful discussion held at the JCC Meeting.

He noted that Bangladesh considers India as the closest neighbor and both the countries are working together closely for sectoral cooperation in the areas like common rivers and water resources management, IT and cyber security, renewable energy, agriculture and food security.

Vice President Naidu also congratulated Bangladesh on the economic success the country achieved in the past decade under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and wished for working together for further prosperity in the days to come.

He particularly applauded the initiatives taken by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Government to ensure women empowerment and participation in the economic activities.

The Bangladesh Foreign Minister also met the Petroleum, Natural Gas and Housing and Urban Affairs Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri and discussed the existing collaboration of both the countries in the areas of energy cooperation namely- nuclear energy, renewables like solar and wind, LNG, LPG, diesel etc.

They also discussed the global evolving situation with a particular focus on the energy demand and supply discourse. Both the Ministers stressed on the need to ensure energy security and energy cooperation in the sub-region. The Indian Petroleum Minister proposed to hold regular meetings and dialogues for further solidifying the existing collaboration and exploring new areas of cooperation in the energy sector.

Earlier on Sunday (June 19), Momen met the Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles of India, Piyush Goyal. The Foreign Minister stated that under the dynamic leadership of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Bangladesh has achieved remarkable socio-economic progress during the last decade.

Both the Ministers expressed satisfaction that bilateral trade has recorded significant growth during the last few years. Foreign Minister Momen stated that Indian business houses can take advantage of investing in Bangladesh particularly in the SEZ dedicated for the Indian investors in Mongla and Mirsharai. They agreed to further deepen collaboration in trade, commerce and investment for mutual benefit.