Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain todaysaid that taking the right bilateral steps could help alleviate publicdiscontent towards Bangladesh-India relations.

“It’s possible to ease public dissatisfaction towards India. I believe weneed to take very correct bilateral steps to address this,” he told reportersat the foreign ministry this afternoon.

Hossain noted that while the ‘golden chapter’ of Bangladesh-India relationsis apparent at the governmental level, it has not extended to the generalpublic.

“We want to see strong people-to-people ties. The public should feel thatthere is a genuinely good relationship between Bangladesh and India, butunfortunately, this aspect has been lacking,” he said.

He criticized the Indian media for creating exaggerated narratives,contrasting them with international media outlets, which he said are knownfor their substantive and neutral coverage.

Hossain criticized the Indian media for creating exaggerated narratives onBangladesh after the student-people revolution, noting that internationalmedia, known for their substantive and neutral coverage, did not echo thesame sentiment.

He acknowledged that while there was some unrest, it has since been resolved.”We have moved past that phase,” he added.

On regional cooperation, Hossain said that there was a hope that the Bay ofBengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation(BIMSTEC) could serve as an alternative to the South Asian Association forRegional Cooperation (SAARC).

However, he pointed out that BIMSTEC cannot become fully effective untilpeace is restored in Myanmar.

Hossain emphasized that Bangladesh does not currently want to see BIMSTEC asa replacement for SAARC.

“SAARC has been a victim of India-Pakistan rivalry, and we do not want tocontinue down this path,” he said.

Hossain noted that Chief Adviser Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus is keen onrevitalizing SAARC as a regional forum.

Regarding relations with Pakistan, the foreign adviser noted that there weretensions between Bangladesh and Pakistan during the previous government forsome reasons, but improving these ties would be beneficial for both nations.

“We seek friendship with all. There is no benefit in creating tension withPakistan,” he said.