Dhaka: India will closely work with Bangladesh to create a seamlessly connected and secure Asia, Indian State Minister for External Affairs General Vijay Kumar Singh (retd) has said.

Recalling his tour of duty in Chittagong during Bangladesh’s War of Liberation in 1971, General Singh assured Bangladesh that India, as in 1971, continued providing support to Bangladesh in its efforts towards countering terrorism, regional connectivity and its ASEAN Dialogue Partnership bid.

He made the remark during a bilateral meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart, Shahriar Alam in Bangkok on Sunday.  

Bangladesh Ambassador to Thailand Saida Muna Tasneem was present during the bilateral meeting.  

The two ministers discussed a wide range of bilateral issues in Bangladesh-India relations on the sidelines of the second Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Summit taking place in Bangkok on October 9-10, said the Foreign Ministry in Dhaka on Monday.  

‘Bangladesh looks towards moving the regional connectivity and energy security agenda forward, together with India under the ACD and other regional cooperation frameworks to the mutual benefit of our two peoples,’ said Shahriar.  

They also discussed in length the various bilateral and quadrilateral road and rail connectivity projects such as BBIN and BCIM.

Shahriar reiterated Bangladesh’s invitation to India for the 9th GFMD Summit in December 2016 in Dhaka and briefed him on the proposal made by Bangladesh Prime Minister for a Global Compact on Migration for the welfare of migrant workers.  

He thanked the Indian State Minister for his support in the recent repatriation of migrant workers from Yemen, including ones from Bangladesh.  

The two ministers agreed to work together for the greater welfare of migrant workers from Bangladesh and India in different parts of the world.  

The Bangladesh State Minister briefed the Indian Minister about Bangladesh’s Asean Dialogue Partner aspirations, and sought support from India, already an Asean Dialogue Partner, in facilitating Bangladesh’s bid.