Dhaka, Sep 23 (Representative) Bangladesh is considering taking the initiative for revisiting some Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), entered into with India by the previous Sheikh Hasina regime, through discussions with New Delhi by the yearend, a senior adviser to the country’s Interim Government said on Sunday. “The interim government will do whatever is needed for the sake of national interest, regardless of its tenure. We’ll take care of all the issues,” Hossain told leading Bangladesh news outlet The Daily Star. However, with regard to agreements between the two countries, he said if changes are needed, these have to be carried out as per the provisions. “MoUs and agreements are different. Conditions of agreements are to be implemented. If that is to change, it needs to be done as per the provisions of the agreements,” Touhid said. He stressed that with regard to the MoUs, the government needs to know peoples’ expectations and seek expert views. “We have to revisit the MoUs based on all these factors. If we have to sign any agreement, we will do it, protecting the interest of both parties,” he said.Asked about a timeframe for revisiting the MOUS or inking agreements, the former diplomat said “It’s not that we’ll start working tomorrow on this. It will come as part of the normal process. India too has to have its time. They won’t sit with us tomorrow if we ask them for a meeting today. “We’ll try to take initiative on each issue based on priority in a mutually agreed time. It won’t happen in a week or two, but we may take initiative in the next few months, or at least by this year,” he said. Iterating that Indo-Bangladesh ties were both historic and cultural, he said the two countries have mutual interest in maintaining good relations which needs to be people-centric and based on mutual relations. “India has its interests in the relationship with Bangladesh, just like we do. So the relationship has to be based on mutual interest and respect.
“We’re only talking about the relationship between the two governments when it has to be people-centric so that the people benefit from the relationship. It is not an ideal situation for governments to say that the relationship is good while people here have anti-India sentiments,” he said. Asked about the hiccups in India-Bangladesh ties and the Interim Government’s strategy to stabilise the relationship, the Foreign Adviser said while Dhaka would protect its interests, that did not mean India’s interests would be ignored. “For India, Bangladesh is a very important country when it comes to security. India’s Northeast region suffered from insurgency, which was removed with our cooperation,” he said. He said one needs to remember that Bangaldesh was going through a phase of revolution and there “may be some conflicts of interest”. “However, the relationship was very profitable for India during the previous regime. This led India, especially its media, to take a negative approach towards the current situation in Bangladesh. Most of their accusations were baseless. I believe these aspects will eventually be removed,” he added. Referring to the geo-politics in the region, and the presence of big neighbours, he said for a small country like Bangladesh it was important to maintain a balanced relationship. “We’ve been doing so and the interim government will also try to do the same,” he said. He said while three sides of Bangladesh are bordered by India. China was his country’s biggest trade partner and US the single biggest export market, and a major source of Bangladesh’s remittance.