New Delhi: India went into damage control mode on Monday after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made controversial comments on Bangladesh at the Editors meet he held in the capital last week.
The Prime Ministers Office (PMO) staff had published Dr Manmohan Singh's off-the-record fears of 25 per cent of all Bangladeshi's hating India.
The Prime Minister reportedly spoke to his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina on Monday to clarify the controversy.
Sources have said that the Singh also told her how much he was looking forward to his Bangladesh trip in September.
He also underlined that 'goodwill' existed among the political parties in both countries and encouraging people-to-people contacts was a priority in the relationship.
"Following the official announcement of his visit to Bangladesh on 6-7 September, the Prime Minister called the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina to say how much he was looking forward to the visit and to renewing contacts with his old friends there," a statement released by the PMO said.
Singh conveyed his "warm personal greetings to Prime Minister Hasina and through her to the people of Bangladesh", it said.
He said India attached "the highest importance to relations" with Bangladesh and "a strong and productive partnership between the two countries was in the interest of the two peoples and the people of South Asia as a whole".
The telephone call from Singh comes amid efforts to control damage caused by his remarks that 25 per cent people of Bangladesh were anti-India.
Noting with satisfaction that there had been an increase in high-level exchanges, Singh told Hasina that his visit would provide an opportunity to give added momentum and high level political direction to bilateral ties, which have been 'intensifying steadily' in recent years.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna will be travelling to Dhaka on Wednesday to review bilateral ties and prepare for Singh's visit.
The Indian Prime Minister said that "goodwill existed among the political parties in both countries and was encouraging people to people contacts was a priority in the relationship."
Both leaders decided to instruct their respective officials to work towards making the Prime Minister's visit successful and substantive, the PMO statement said.
The Bangladesh Prime Minister said she personally and the people of her country were waiting eagerly to receive Singh and there were "high expectations from the visit, which she hoped would be a historic one".
With additional information from PTI
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