Omar Abdullah: ‘New Bangladesh government will improve relations with India’

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday expressed hope that the new government in Bangladesh will improve relations with India, saying that the country benefits from having a stable neighbor.

He also said that the India-US trade deal will have a negative impact on the Union Territory.

After inaugurating the annual agritech festival ‘GONGUL’ at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Abdullah told reporters, “The more stable our neighbors are, the more we benefit. No one wants war and conflict, or an unstable neighbor—be it Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, or any other country.”

Abdullah said that India wants democracy in Bangladesh and wants it to remain stable and progress.

He further said, “We hope that after his government is formed, the two countries will improve their relations, which have otherwise seen some bitterness.” Responding to a question about the India-US trade deal, the Chief Minister said that while he doesn’t know what benefits the deal will bring to the rest of the country, for Jammu and Kashmir, “so far, we can only see losses.” He said, “All the things that will be allowed to come here duty-free are produced in Jammu and Kashmir – almonds, walnuts, apples, fresh fruit, dry fruit. You (the government) are saying there will be no impact, that Jammu and Kashmir’s fruit won’t sell for less than Rs 70 per kg. But what does that mean (when you say) they will sell their good fruit and we will sell our bad fruit?” Abdullah said that fruit growers in Jammu and Kashmir have made huge investments to improve the quality of their fruit. “New varieties and high-quality fruits have arrived, and we have been able to get them to the markets on time through the CA store. Now, if you’re saying that good produce will come from abroad and low-priced produce should be sold here, that’s a huge joke on our growers. We want our best and best-priced produce to be sold. Therefore, I see only losses from this deal, not any benefits,” he added. The Chief Minister said that with the help of the UT’s Agriculture University, efforts are being made to provide technology-driven organic solutions to farmers, boosting the rural economy and agriculture.

He said, “Lakhs of people are coming to this festival to benefit from it. That’s what we want. If we want to compete with countries like the US—which, after the trade deal, seems to be the case because their agricultural produce will come to our country—we need to improve our productivity and quality, for which this festival plays a vital role.”