EAM meets Bangladesh counterpart, discusses ties at Indian Ocean Conference
The meeting between the two leaders marked the first high-level contact between the two sides since foreign secretary Vikram Misri’s visit to Dhaka last December.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar met his Bangladeshi counterpart Touhid Hossain on the margins of a conference in Oman on Sunday and discussed bilateral relations against the backdrop of a sharp downturn in relations between the two sides.
The meeting between the two leaders, who were attending the Indian Ocean Conference in Muscat, marked the first high-level contact between the two sides since foreign secretary Vikram Misri’s visit to Dhaka last December, and came ahead of planned talks between the border guard forces of India and Bangladesh in New Delhi this week.
“Met Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain of the Interim Government of Bangladesh. Conversation was focused on our bilateral relationship, as also on BIMSTEC,” Jaishankar said in a post on X. There was no readout from the Indian side on the meeting.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said in statement that Hossain and Jaishankar discussed “various bilateral issues of mutual concerns and interests”. Both sides noted a meeting of the directors general of the border guard forces of the two countries is scheduled to be held in New Delhi during February 18-20 and “hoped that various border-related issues would be discussed and resolved during the meeting”.
The statement added: “Both sides recognised the challenges the two neighbours are facing in terms of bilateral relations and discussed about the necessity to work together to address those.”
India-Bangladesh relations have been at their lowest point in decades following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government and the formation of a caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus in Dhaka last August. India has repeatedly expressed concern at the interim government’s handling of attacks on Bangladesh’s Hindu minority. Differences have also emerged between the two sides on issues such as trade, border management and water-sharing.
Hossain also raised the issue of initiating discussions for renewing the Ganges Water Treaty and requested the Indian government to consider the need to hold a meeting of the standing committee of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).
Bangladesh’s interim government has been pushing efforts to revive Saarc, which has been moribund for almost a decade because of differences between India and Pakistan.
Jaishankar and Hossain last met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last September, while Misri travelled to Dhaka for foreign office consultations on December 9. Bangladesh’s de facto energy minister participated in the India Energy Week in New Delhi during February 10-11.
Delegations and representatives of more than 30 countries and regional organisations such as Saarc and Bimstec attended the conference and Jaishankar also held meetings with his counterparts several countries. One of the significant meetings was the one with Oman’s foreign minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, during which the two sides discussed cooperation in trade, investment and energy security, Jaishankar said.
Jaishankar also met Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, Maldivian foreign minister Abdulla Khaleel, Sri Lankan foreign minister Vijitha Herath, Nepal foreign minister Arzu Deuba, Bhutan foreign minister DN Dhungyel, Brunei’s foreign minister Erywan Pehin Yusof and Mauritius foreign minister Dhananjay Ritish Ramful.
These meetings largely focused on bilateral relations and cooperation. Jaishankar told Herath that India remains committed to Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and progress. Araghchi and Jaishankar also discussed developments in the region.
