Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor to the interim government of Bangladesh, made a comment on India’s ‘Seven Sisters’ during his visit to China, which caused a stir across India. As a result, the country’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar has claimed that India has the longest coastline in the Bay of Bengal. This information was reported by Indian media NDTV in a report on Thursday (April 3).
NDTV says that Bangladesh’s chief advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus described India’s northeastern region as ‘landlocked’ and referred to Bangladesh as the ‘guardian of sea access’ in the region, and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday strongly protested.
Jaishankar highlighted India’s strategic role in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), highlighting India’s 6,500 km coastline and its geographical connectivity with the five BIMSTEC members.
The Indian External Affairs Minister said, “After all, we have the longest coastline in the Bay of Bengal, which is about 6,500 km. India not only shares borders with all five BIMSTEC members, but also connects most of them.” It also provides a major part of the connectivity between the Indian subcontinent and ASEAN.’
“Our North-Eastern region in particular is emerging as a ‘connectivity hub’ for BIMSTEC, with a vast network of roads, railways, waterways, grids and pipelines,” Jaishankar said.
“We are aware that our cooperation and facilitation are an essential prerequisite for the smooth flow of goods, services and people in this larger geographical area. Keeping this geostrategic context in mind, we have devoted increasing energy and attention to strengthening BIMSTEC over the last decade,” the Indian External Affairs Minister said.