Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser, Mohammed Tauhid Hossain, stated that it is strategically feasible for Bangladesh to join a regional group with Pakistan without including India.
According to the state news agency BSS, he added that doing the same for Nepal or Bhutan would be practically difficult.
This development comes a week after Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar revealed at the Islamabad Conclave that a new trilateral initiative involving Pakistan, China, and Bangladesh has been launched, which could potentially expand to include other countries in the region in the future. Tauhid Hossain said that Ishaq Dar’s statement highlights possible opportunities, but he cannot comment further at this time.
It is worth noting that Ishaq Dar’s visit to Dhaka in August is being regarded as a significant turning point in Pakistan-Bangladesh relations. Both countries moved beyond past disputes to discuss trade, youth and educational exchanges, cultural ties, and especially the revival of SAARC.
Sources indicate that since 2016, when India canceled the SAARC summit in Islamabad following the Uri incident, the organization has remained largely paralyzed. The India-Pakistan tensions have also affected collective regional efforts among other neighboring countries.
