India-Bangladesh ties now in 'Golden Period': Shringla

Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Tuesday said that ties between New Delhi and Dhaka were at its best as the two South Asian neighbours celebrated 50 years of diplomatic ties. "The ties are now in its Sonali Oddhya (Golden Period) mainly because of the chemistry between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina," he told a reception at the India House hosted by Indian envoy Vikram Doraiswami.

Shringla said the two countries had made strides in all sectors of bilateral ties including trade abd economy. The Indian Foreign Secretary leaves for home today after holding talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina following a one-night stay in Dhaka to mark 50 years of diplomatic ties between the two neighbours dubbed as "Moitri Dibash" or Friendship Day.

India recognised Bangladesh on 6 December 1971 as a sovereign independent state 10 days ahead of the final victory against Pakistan. Bhutan also recognised Bangladesh at around the same time.  The reception was joined by ministers, MPs, diplomats, businessmen and cultural personalities.Earlier on the day, Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla met Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen at his office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after holding a detailed discussion with his Bangladesh counterpart Masud Bin Momen at Foreign Service Academy.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Momen said the two countries agreed to work for the welfare of the people in the two countries.He said the Indian side talked about the border issue and assured Bangladesh of keeping more careful watch to avert any problem on the Bangladesh-India border.

After his meeting with Shringla, Foreign Secretary Masud Momen said they talked about the issues of common interests, ways for enhancing efforts to address pending issues.He said there are no major differences between the two sides and discussed ways to find new areas of cooperation.Masud Bin Momen said they discussed ways to keep the border more peaceful and ways to have more trade between the two nations.