Doraiswamy’s keynote to stimulate dialogue on Indo-Bangla relations

An array of experts from Bangladesh and India have been brought together for an online symposium hosted by Cosmos Foundation to assess the state of relations between the two countries and identify the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the efforts to take it forward.

The keynote address at the symposium titled “Bangladesh-India relations: Prognosis for the Future” will be delivered by Vikram Doraiswamy, High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh.

Chairman of Cosmos Foundation Enayetullah Khan will deliver the opening remarks at the event, which is set to premiere on the Facebook page of Cosmos Foundation at 8pm BST on Thursday.

Renowned scholar-diplomat and adviser on foreign affairs to the last caretaker government Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury will chair the session.

It is the latest instalment in Cosmos Foundation’s Ambassador Lecture Series, in which the envoys of various countries stationed in Dhaka are invited to deliver keynotes, before engaging with a high-level expert panel on bilateral ties between Bangladesh and the country they represent.

For this edition, the panel of discussants drawn from both sides of the border will comprise ambassador (retd) Tariq A Karim, Prof C Raja Mohan, Prof Imtiaz Ahmed, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Major Gen (retd) ANM Muniruzzaman, Dr Fahmida Khatun, Brig Gen (retd) Shahedul Anam Khan, and ambassador (retd) Krishnan Srinivasan.

The full video of the event will be available for viewing on the Facebook page of Cosmos Foundation and elsewhere from Thursday at any time, following the premiere.

Over the better part of the last 12 years, India and Bangladesh have diligently forged a warm and friendly relationship that has been described as a textbook example of a neighbourly relationship.

The essence of the bond between the two countries lies in a shared heritage of culture and history that can never be erased, which culminated during Bangladesh’s struggle for independence in 1971.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attendance as the honoured chief guest during Bangladesh’s golden jubilee celebrations of independence just last month served to reiterate that the two countries are experiencing a “golden age” in their relationship.

Against this backdrop, Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of conglomerate Cosmos Group, brings together the finest minds to arrive at a prognosis for the future of the relationship, in line with its commitment to eliciting strategic insights and policy solutions for Bangladesh as it charts its course toward a future that is ever-brighter.