Hope new Bangladesh govt improves ties with India, US trade deal to affect J&K: Omar Abdullah

Srinagar, Feb 14: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday expressed hope that the new government in Bangladesh will improve relations with India, and said having stable neighbours benefits our country.

He also said the India-US trade deal will adversely affect the Union Territory.

“The more stable our neighbouring countries are, the more it benefits us. No one wants to have wars and fights, or to have unstable neighbours — be it Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal or any other country,” Abdullah told reporters after inaugurating the annual agritech festival ‘GONGUL’ at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology here.

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

“We hope that after their government formation, both the countries will improve their relations, which had otherwise witnessed some bitterness,” he added.

To a question about the Indo-US trade deal, the chief minister said that while he does not know how the deal would benefit the rest of the country, for Jammu and Kashmir “as of now, we can only see losses”.

“The items that will be allowed to enter here duty-free are all what Jammu and Kashmir produces –“ almonds, walnuts, apples, fresh fruit, dry fruit. You (government) are saying there will be no impact, that fruits from Jammu and Kashmir will not be sold for less than Rs 70 a kilo. But what does it mean (when you say) they will sell their good fruit and we will sell our bad ones?” he said.

Abdullah said the fruit growers in Jammu and Kashmir have made huge investments to improve the quality of their produce.

“New varieties and high qualities have come up, we have been able to take the fruit to the markets at the right time through the CA stores. Now, if you are saying that good things will come from outside and less valued items should be sold from here, that is a huge joke with our growers. We want our best and high value products to be sold. So, I can only see losses because of this deal and no benefit,” he added.

The chief minister said attempts are being made, with the help of the UT’s agriculture universities, to take technology-driven organic solutions to farmers to give a fillip to the rural economy and agriculture.

“People are visiting this festival in lakhs to benefit from this. That is what we want. If have to compete with countries like the US — which seems to be the case after the trade deal because their agriculture produce will enter our country — we will have to improve our productivity and quality, for which this festival plays an important role,” he said. (PTI)