Indian MPs call for repair in ties with Bangladesh, focus on shared cultureMembers of India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs have signalled support for repairing and advancing ties with Bangladesh, amid compounding diplomatic and trade tensions between the neighbours. The Hindu cited another source saying there was a broad agreement that India and Bangladesh are linked by shared culture and language, and “should not be viewed as a hostile neighbour like Pakistan”. Several MPs reportedly proposed a “soft launch” of cultural diplomacy involving West Bengal as a way to ease tensions and repair dialogue. The Indian national daily noted that Dhaka has already made such a gesture, with Bangladesh High Commissioner M Riaz Hamidullah meeting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Monday. Before that, on Apr 9, it withdrew transshipment access that had allowed Bangladesh to export to the Middle East and Europe via Indian ports.
