Bangladesh-India Strategic Dialogue Begins in Delhi Thursday

Building on its longstanding tradition of holding bilateral discussion with think tank partners in India, a CPD team will be joining “India-Bangladesh Strategic Dialogue” to be held in Delhi on June 22-23, reports UNB.

The discussion is being jointly organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and the Ananta Aspen Centre, New Delhi.

This is a Track-Two (non-government) initiative, said the civil society think-tank.

This will be the second dialogue under the CPD-Ananta Aspen collaboration, the first one was held (virtually) on 18 May 2022.

CPD along with its partners in India over the years has organised 16 such dialogues. The dialogues were held alternatively in Dhaka and Delhi.

The Delhi CPD-Ananta Aspen upcoming dialogue will discuss a range of bilateral issues having strategic and contemporary relevance.

Participants will deliberate speech on water sharing, multimodal connectivity including road, rail, water, coastal shipping, energy and digital connectivity.

Bilateral cooperation will be explored in novel areas such as monetary cooperation and technology transfer, according to CPD.

The evolution of bilateral relations will also be assessed in the context of emerging geo-strategic circumstances.

It is anticipated that at a time when the two countries stand at important crossroads and are heading towards national elections, the dialogue will be an opportunity to discuss how Indo-Bangladesh bilateral relationship could be reframed and reimagined in a way that meets the aspirations of both the countries and their people.

The dialogue in New Delhi will bring together high-level policy makers, experts and partners from both countries.

From the Bangladesh side, the participants include: Dr. Fahmida Khatun, Executive Director, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD); Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD); Professor Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD); Brig. Gen. (Retd) Dr. Sakhawat Hussain, former Election Commissioner, Bangladesh Election Commission; Md Shahidul Haque, former Senior Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Bangladesh; Dr. Amena Mohsin, Professor, Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka; and Dr. M Tamim, Professor, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET); Shams Mahmud, President, Bangladesh-Thai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.