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00:00In addition to that, there are many more dependencies and I know that sometimes it seems that we
00:08in Bangladesh are totally dependent on Indian products or Indian imports.
00:15But on the other hand, we in Bangladesh also believe that there are many things in Bangladesh
00:21that India is also dependent upon.
00:25For example, this 18 billion market is not a very small market.
00:30So that way I would like to think that the business relationship between the two countries
00:35is quite substantial and we can only try to nurture it and try to make it even bigger
00:46because it is definitely a win-win situation.
00:50When we import from India, we do it because this is the, I wouldn't say the cheapest,
00:57the most competitive in terms of prices and time and it serves the Indian exporters also.
01:06They can really get their money quickly instead of exporting to a further destination.
01:13The transportation costs are so much less than in case of exporting to some other country.
01:21So let's not think that it's only Bangladesh who is depending on India for business.
01:28People to people contact wise also, I know that there is a narrative that Bangladesh
01:36is dependent on India for medical treatment and for other tourism issues, education.
01:46But this medical treatment that we are getting from India is not free.
01:52The people are paying for it.
01:53The education that we are getting in India is not also free.
01:58People are also paying for it.
01:59So there's a, it's a symbiotic relationship.
02:04And the sooner we realize that both sides are benefiting from it, I think the sooner
02:10we will be able to support this sort of people to people contact and the business relationship
02:18because it is clearly not a one-sided affair, but a win-win situation for both the sides.
02:26So the public on both sides need to recognize it, the business communities on the two sides
02:32need to recognize it.
02:34And most importantly, the politicians also need to recognize it and not try to, you know,
02:42not try to harp on a certain one-sided narrative as if it's only Bangladesh who is benefiting
02:54from relationship with India.
02:57Should Bangladesh's growing ties with Pakistan create concern for India?
03:04I think India should not at all be concerned about relationship with Pakistan.
03:10Because in the first place, we have a lot of unsettled issues with Pakistan that still
03:15need to be resolved.
03:17And I think in our hearts, we are still not ready to accept Pakistan with open arms.
03:25Of course, there are certain restrictions are being lifted regarding visas.
03:31Yes, certain trade relationships have increased recently.
03:37I know there's a lot of concern in India about the direct shipping linkages.
03:42But this is not a recent development.
03:46Even when Sheikh Hasina government was there, we were still working with the Pakistani side
03:52for direct shipping linkages, because it doesn't make sense for a ship to go from
03:57Chattogram to Dubai, and then from Dubai to go to Karachi.
04:01You know, direct shipping linkages, Bangladesh has always promoted connectivity, direct shipping
04:06linkages with many countries.
04:09So that way we can avoid costs, trading costs, we can reduce costs.
04:15So I think there is not at all anything that India needs to worry about regarding our relationship
04:23with Pakistan.
04:26Because whatever happens, I think trade with Pakistan will never overtake trade with India.
04:34The relationship that we have with India, the people to people relationship, the cultural
04:42linkages, the similarities, the language, linguistic, all these sort of commonalities,
04:49these are much more stronger with our neighbor, India, than ever with Pakistan.