India's top diplomat arrived in Bangladesh on Wednesday keen to placate his hosts after comments by the prime minister last week calling many Bangladeshis "anti-Indian" caused uproar. External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said that New Delhi attached "the highest importance to relations with Bangladesh", adding that he hoped to sign several agreements during his three-day visit.
"Our bilateral relations are passing through the best phase in recent times with a number of new and forward-looking initiatives taken by the leadership of the two countries," he said in a speech after landing in Dhaka. Krishna's trip was planned weeks ago but has been overshadowed by comments made by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a press meeting.
Singh told editors in New Delhi that many Bangladeshis were "very anti-Indian", triggering outcry in Bangladesh. He also said that members of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, were "in the clutches" of Pakistan's intelligence agency.
The comments, which were splashed across many Bangladeshi newspapers on Saturday, strained relations between the South Asian neighbours. Singh's office removed the remarks from his official website, saying they had been made "off the record". New Delhi regularly accuses Dhaka of harbouring Indian insurgents and said the country was fostering militancy when Bangladesh was ruled by an Islamist-allied government.
But ties have improved in recent years, especially since the traditionally pro-Indian Awami League party came to power in 2009. Krishna, who will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for talks during his visit, said India sought "a deeper and stronger partnership with Bangladesh".