India, Bangladesh keen to boost bilateral ties: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar on Sunday expressed confidence in India-Bangladesh ties and said that the countries look forward to cooperating in new domains including cyber security and upgradation of the railway system.

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar on Sunday expressed confidence in India-Bangladesh ties and said that the countries look forward to cooperating in new domains including cyber security and upgradation of the railway system.

"We now look forward to working with Bangladesh to take our ties to new domains...including cyber security, upgradation of the railway system," Jaishankar said during the 7th India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission Meeting in New Delhi today.

   Speaking on trade with Bangladesh, Jaishankar said, "Today Bangladesh is our largest development & trade partner in the region." Jaishankar also mentioned how both countries came together to fight the pandemic. The EAM said, "We jointly overcame pandemic in terms of vaccine, medicine supply."

At the India-Bangladesh JCC meeting, AK Abdul Momen, Foreign Affairs Minister of Bangladesh, said that the relationship between both the countries is based on mutual trust. FM Momen called India the "most important neighbour".

"India is the most important neighbour of Bangladesh. Initiatives taken by both nations have helped us achieve stability & development across the region. Bangladesh-India relations are based on mutual trust & respect," the Bangladeshi FM said.

Upon meeting with the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Jaishankar while taking to Twitter wrote, "A warm welcome to FM Dr AK Abdul Momen for the 7th India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission meeting. Our regular meetings reflect our unique friendship."

The first physical JCC Meeting between India and Bangladesh is being held in New Delhi today and EAM S Jaishankar is the co-chair of the meeting along with his Bangladeshi counterpart AK Abdul Momen.

The JCC is to review the bilateral ties including cooperation in the wake of Covid-19, border management and security, trade and investment, connectivity, energy, water resources, development partnership and regional and multilateral issues, the MEA said earlier in a statement.

This is the first physical meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. The previous meeting was held in 2020 virtually. Both countries actively engage in cooperation projects to boost bilateral relations.

As part of the ongoing Indo-Bangladesh defence cooperation, the armies of India and Bangladesh recently conducted the 10th edition of the joint military exercise -- SAMPRITI X -- from June 5 to June 16 in Bangladesh.