• Cattle smuggling should be stopped: Sheikh Hasina, according to media reports

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi led initiative towards rescuing students of her country who were stuck in eastern Europe following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

In an interview with ANI ahead of her State visit to India, Hasina said Bangladesh’s foreign policy is “friendship to all, malice to none”. She further stated that the focus should be on improving the lives of people, adding that the countries have only one common enemy – poverty, reports ndtv.com

The Bangladesh prime minister emphasised on closer cooperation between the two neighbours. There can be differences, but these should be addressed through dialogue, she said, adding that in a number of areas, India and Bangladesh had precisely done that.

She, however, marked out two areas for special praise where the Indian government's support helped Bangladeshi citizens. One of these was the evacuation of Bangladesh students, who, like many Indians, were stuck in Ukraine and its neighbouring countries after the outbreak of the conflict.

"I really would like to express my thanks to Prime Minister that during this war between Russia and Ukraine, many of our students were just stuck, and they came to Poland for shelter. But when you evacuated your students, Indian students, they also brought our students back home. So it is really... You have shown a clearly friendly gesture. I thank Prime Minister (Modi) for this initiative," Prime Minister Hasina said.

On Rohingya refugees, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that Bangladesh is reaching out to the international community to ensure they return to their homeland, adding that she feels India could play a major role in resolving the issue.

"Well you know... for us it's a big burden. India is a vast country; you can accommodate but you don't have much. But in our country... we have 1.1 million Rohingya. So well... we are consulting with the international community and also our neighbouring countries, they should also take some steps so that they can go back home," Hasina said.