Published: 01:18 AM, 14 September 2026
Bangladesh seeks to reset bilateral relationship with India: Humaiun
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir on Sunday said Bangladesh wants to "reset" its relationship with India and build a constructive bilateral partnership through direct engagement between the two neighbours.
"We want to move towards a new relationship, which should be done through bilateral discussions, not through a multilateral forum," he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, BSS reports.
Kobir said Bangladesh needs to move beyond what he described as an excessive preoccupation with India and approach relations with New Delhi as it would with other countries, based on mutual interests.
"We have to get out of the India fascination. India is just another country, and Bangladesh wants good bilateral relations with it," he said.
Referring to what he described as an uncomfortable relationship with India during the previous 15 years under an "authoritarian, corrupt and exploitative" regime, the state minister said Dhaka now wants to begin a new chapter in bilateral ties.
Clarifying his earlier remarks concerning bilateral and multilateral engagements, he said those comments were specifically made in the context of India.
"What I said was mainly applicable to India. We want to build a good working bilateral relationship with India," he said.
Kobir said when Bangladesh seeks to rebuild or strengthen relations with a country, the initial engagement should ideally take place through a dedicated bilateral visit rather than a meeting on the sidelines of a multilateral forum.
"That was said only in the case of India. I never said that whenever we attend a multilateral event, we will not meet anyone," he added.
The state minister made it clear that Bangladesh would continue holding meetings with other countries on the sidelines of regional and international forums whenever necessary.
Asked about recent incidents along the Bangladesh-India border, Kobir said Dhaka would seek to resolve such issues through established diplomatic channels.
"We will resolve these issues through diplomatic discussions," he said.
Kobir said Bangladesh would raise its concerns with India at every appropriate level while adhering to international law as well as existing border protocols and bilateral agreements.
Responding to a question about the reported review of 101 memorandums of understanding (MoUs), the state minister said the agreements were being scrutinised and reviewed through the parliamentary process.
