Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Wednesday (February 07, 2024) emphasised on early conclusion of Teesta water sharing agreement aiming to strengthen water cooperation between Bangladesh and India. He also stressed the renewal of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty that will expire in 2026. The issue of border killings was discussed during his bilateral meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar at Hyderabad House on his maiden bilateral trip to India as the foreign minister. Both sides agreed to enhanced cooperation between the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the Border Security Force (BSF) and using non-lethal weapons to reduce border killing to zero. Foreign Minister Mahmud requested his Indian counterpart to withdraw tariff and non-tariff barriers for Bangladesh's exports, as well as ensure uninterrupted supply of essential commodities to Bangladesh for maintaining price stability, especially during Ramadan. Mahmud is visiting India from 6 to 9 February 2024 at the invitation of the External Affairs Minister of India. Our discussions today will strengthen Bangladesh-India Maitri, says Jaishankar welcoming FM in New DelhiThe two foreign ministers expressed satisfaction on the excellent bilateral relation that exists between Bangladesh and India. They discussed key areas of mutual interests, expressing a commitment to strengthening collaboration across various areas. They stressed the need for deeper and high quality cooperation in various sectors especially trade and commerce, connectivity, power, defence and security cooperation and water. Both the foreign ministers agreed to collaborate further each other at sub-regional, regional and multilateral platform.Mahmud thanked India for their cooperation and continued support in various sectors which resulted in a remarkable year of 2023 in the bilateral relations between the two countries. He noted that a number of projects in promoting power sector cooperation and establishing connectivity were inaugurated by the two prime ministers. Political stability, peace must for development and progress: Hasan Mahmud says in DelhiThe Indian External Affairs minister congratulated the Bangladesh Foreign Minister for conducting a very good and successful elections held last month. Dr Jaishankar emphasised on regional connectivity and power sector cooperation. He appreciated the government of Bangladesh under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for socio-economic advancement during last 15 years. The minister noted that Bangladesh and India should work together to fulfill the aspiration of the peoples of both countries. He stressed devising ways and means of fast tracking LoC projects.Both the foreign ministers discussed in details the evolving situation in Myanmar and its impact on the regional stability and repatriation of Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar. Bangladesh’s foreign minister reiterated for India's support in the early repatriation of Rohingya refugees.Both the foreign ministers expressed commitment to further enhance their collaboration to promote sub-regional cooperation within the framework of BIMSTEC, IORA and BBIN. The foreign minister invited the External Affairs Minister of India to Dhaka for the next Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) Meeting at his earliest convenience.Earlier, Mahmud paid tribute to the memories of Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat. He met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and visited Bangabandhu Media Centre at the Press Club of India. FM Hasan, Jaishankar discuss scope of future engagement in line with "Smart Bangladesh 2041" and "Viksit Bharat 2047"

Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Tuesday (February 06, 2024) said that the Rohingya repatriation issue will be discussed with India during his first bilateral visit to New Delhi apart from discussion on overall bilateral issues. He mentioned that Myanmar is a neighbouring country for both Bangladesh and India. Talking to reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the minister said Bangladesh has been seeking India's support regarding the Rohingya repatriation. "So, overall this issue will be discussed," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last September where the Rohingya issue was discussed. 123 more Myanmar security forces including army men make their way into Bangladesh: BGB With regard to the regional situation, Modi expressed appreciation of the burden shouldered by Bangladesh in hosting over a million persons displaced from the Rakhine State in Myanmar, and conveyed India's constructive and positive approach to support solutions towards safe and sustainable repatriation of the refugees. Since the Foreign Minister will have a meeting with India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, the current security situation in Myanmar is likely to be discussed in the context of regional issues, said a diplomatic source. The foreign minister is going to India tonight (Tuesday) and is scheduled to hold a meeting with his Indian counterpart Dr S Jaishanka on Wednesday. The foreign minister is likely to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will have a separate meeting with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal during his stay in New Delhi. He will also pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi at the iconic Rajghat. Foreign Ministry summons Myanmar Ambassador He is likely to attend a seminar, too. Asked about BNP's comment that the Myanmar BGP members are entering Bangladesh and the conflicts are spilling into Bangladesh territory due to the government's “lenient foreign policy,” Hasan said BNP leaders were "speaking the language of the insane." "BNP thought that the foreign countries will not welcome the new government of Bangladesh after the polls, but now that all are welcoming and expressing their interest to work with us, BNP is speaking the language of the insane," he said. Though the Foreign Minister will go to New Delhi directly, he will return to Dhaka via Kolkata on Friday night (February 9), a senior official told UNB. In Kolkata, he will attend a "meet the press" event and a reception, to be hosted by the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission. Earlier, Spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Seheli Sabrin, said issues of mutual interest including trade, connectivity and energy cooperation, people-to-people contacts and regional cooperation will be discussed between the two sides at the bilateral meeting to further strengthen Bangladesh-India relations. Asked whether the Teesta water-sharing issue will be discussed in the meeting, the foreign ministry spokesperson said they expect the issue would be discussed. Tension at the border: What Dhaka told the Myanmar Ambassador