Saran on Tuesday said that Bangladesh’s remarkable progress on the economic front over the years has remained as “one of the most understated stories”.
The country’s economy consistently grew by 6 to 7 per cent since early 90s, which is higher than of the other countries in the region like Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, he pointed out while interacting with senior journalists of The Independent during a visit to the offices of the daily in the capital.

“We are committed to implementing all the assurances India has given to Bangladesh,” the high commissioner also said.
In this context he made it clear that the widespread consensus in India is that it should build good relations with Bangladesh and other neighbours.  Asked to comment on the perception that the Teesta deal which was agreed upon between the two prime ministers might be signed in a changed form due to the opposition of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banarjee, the Indian High Commissioner said that he was not aware of any such change in the deal.
“The only information I have is that the Government of India is trying to reach a consensus in India on this issue,” he said.
He also said that it would be speculative to talk about the consequences of not signing the deal as the process of signing the deal was going on.
Referring to the land swap agreement he said that the implementation of the agreement required an amendment to the Indian constitution; and an amendment would require the backing of two third members of the Indian parliament.
The Indian government was also working to build a consensus among the political parties in this regard, he added.
Regarding the loss of human lives on the common border he said that a joint border management system has been developed to ensure that such undesired incidents do not happen and both the BSF and the BGB are working together to deter smuggling and other criminal activities at the border.
In his welcoming remarks Editor of The Independent Mahbubul Alam underlined the vibrant bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India and said that there was no alternative to working together for the common interest of both the countries.
“We are not neighbours by choice. Geography placed us as neighbours. So we need to come closer to work together for our mutual benefit,” Alam, also a former adviser to a caretaker government said.
Alam suggested enhancing connectivity, people to people contact and boosting bilateral trade for further strengthening the relations which elevated to a new high after the after the meetings of the two prime ministers in Delhi and Dhaka,
When asked about what benefit Bangladesh would get by providing transit to India the Indian High Commissioner said, “I believe Bangladesh has been examining the potential benefits. Different concerned ministries are working on the matter. In my opinion Bangladesh needs to do a cross-benefit analysis. It is only Bangladesh which can decide how it will benefit.”
“Having said this I can say there can be some obvious benefits to Bangladesh in terms of fees, improved infrastructure, opening of new routes, increased economic activities and many other spin offs,” he clarified He stated that his government will engage with its Bangladeshi counterpart to work out the modalities.
He added, “There are many initiatives in the pipeline but only Bangladesh can make the final decision regarding the issue.”
He pointed out that if full-scale transit facilities are given there will also be the private sector of both countries which will also be involved and will benefit.
The high commissioner added in this context, there needs to a dialogue between the respective private sectors.
Saran said that India believed that it should help its neighbors including Bangladesh to achieve better economic growth for its own interest and for the common prosperity and stability of the region.
In this connection he mentioned that India had withdrawn all duties on the import of Bangladeshi product to India except for 25 tariff lines that include products like tobacco and other items where Bangladeshi exporters had no interest.
The Indian High Commissioner said that Bangladesh could import 500MW of power from the public and private sectors of India by the middle of next year.
“The progress to install a 1320MW coal-fired joint venture power plant at Bagerhat with NTPC, the largest company of India in the public sector, is good and hopefully the joint venture company will be take shape within a couple of weeks,” he said.
Replying to a question, the Indian envoy said, a high-level technical committee has been formed to oversee matters relating to these issues.
He said, the SAARC project relating to energy and water is moving fast and also exploring the possibility of installing a grid line between Bangladesh-India-Nepal and Bhutan to tap energy potential for ensuring common benefit.
Asked if the relationship between the two countries should depend upon the change of governments in Dhaka and New Delhi, the Indian High Commissioner said, “No, I don’t think so. I think relations are always between two states and two governments.”
“Just as people of India elect their government people of Bangladesh elect their government. We conduct our relations with the government of the day based on mutual interests and mutual concerns,” he said.
“We have some breakthroughs with Bangladesh even in non-Congress government. For example, Ganges Treaty was signed in 1996. I think we all have changes as nations in South Asia today,” he said.
“There is certainly in India very widespread national consensus that you need to have good relations with Bangladesh. The prosperity and stability of Bangladesh and India are mutually interlinked. No one is questioning this in India today,” he added.