India wants close security coordination with Bangladesh: Envoy

Dhaka: India has sought greater security cooperation with Bangladesh's law enforcing agencies, including the armed forces, to fight a "common battle" against terrorism, Indian High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the National Defence College (NDC) here, he said regional peace and stability was of "utmost importance" against the backdrop of enhanced economic cooperation that terrorism tried to undermine, bdnews24.com reported.

Shringla said security perception had changed with terrorism emerging as "a major challenge".

"New challenges call for enhanced security cooperation between our armed forces, police and law enforcement agencies, close coordination on the ground," he said, referring to the Gulshan cafe attack in Dhaka earlier this month.

The High Commissioner was speaking on "Contemporary India, its Foreign Policy, Security Strategy & Bangladesh-India Relations". 

This was his first address to the NDC after taking up his Dhaka assignment this year.

Shringla condemned the recent terror attack in Dhaka on July 1 and said the armed forces played "a valiant role in effectively subduing the terrorists", bdnews24.com reported.

He reiterated the Indian government's resolve to stand by Bangladesh in the fight against terrorism, which posed "a challenge" to the fabric of the society.

The very aim of the terror group was to "undermine any positive development", he said.

The High Commissioner also highlighted a whole range of India-Bangladesh engagements, particularly after the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year.

"There is a renewed effort to revive the pre-1965 linkages and restore the connectivity which had existed earlier," he said.

"India and Bangladesh share a special relationship," said, adding that the "understanding in India is that India can only prosper if Bangladesh prospers".

"India and Bangladesh are partners in progress and development".

NDC Commandant Lt. Gen. Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardy was present, among others.