The foreign minister said that there will be no discussion on the upcoming elections in the foreign office consultation or foreign secretary-level meeting (FOC) between Bangladesh and India to be held in New Delhi on November 24. AK Abdul Momen
The Foreign Minister said this in response to a journalist’s question at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday (November 20).
Foreign Secretary (Senior Secretary) Masood Bin Momen is scheduled to visit Delhi on November 23 at the invitation of India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra. Related diplomatic sources of Dhaka and Delhi said that the Foreign Secretary-level meeting of the two countries will be held in Delhi on November 24. Masood bin Momen is going to Delhi at a time when India has expressed its position on the Bangladesh elections.
On November 10, the two-plus-two meeting of the foreign and defense ministers of India and the United States in Delhi also discussed the issue of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Bangladesh. After the meeting, India’s foreign secretary told reporters that the Bangladesh elections are Bangladesh’s internal affairs. The people of the country will decide the future of Bangladesh. As a close neighbor, India respects the democratic process of Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, after that meeting, US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs, Donald Lu, recently sent a letter to the three main political parties, the Awami League, BNP, and Jatiya Party, calling for an unconditional dialogue to overcome the conflicting political situation surrounding the elections in Bangladesh.
The Election Commission has already announced the election schedule for January 7. However, the two main political parties are still adamant on the question of elections and dialogue. Therefore, the people concerned consider this visit significant before the 12th National Assembly elections.
When the foreign minister’s attention was drawn in this regard, he commented that the two countries had political talks and said, FOC is a routine meeting. It does not seem that there will be any political discussion. There will be constructive discussions on the outstanding issues.
A group of Japanese investors met the foreign minister at his office. In this context, Dr. Momen said that many Japanese companies from Myanmar are interested in moving their businesses to Bangladesh. About 31 Japanese companies are interested in investing $5 billion in various sectors, including renewable energy, the power sector, ports, and tourism. The foreign minister invited Japanese investors to visit Bangladesh with proposals after the elections. At the same time, he also proposed to invest Japanese businessmen in the Sylhet area.
The Foreign Minister said that the Commonwealth’s pre-election observation team, which is on a visit to Bangladesh, is meeting with the election officials. I heard that you wanted to know about our election process and preparations. They were informed that Bangladesh is moving towards free, fair, and impartial elections.
The news has been taken from More: [ Kalbela. bd. ]