Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has said the High Commission of India in Dhaka continues to monitor the situation related to the minorities in Bangladesh closely. The primary responsibility for the protection of life and liberty of all citizens of Bangladesh, including minorities, rests with the government of Bangladesh, he said while responding to five specific questions at the Indian Lok Sabha on Friday. The Lok Sabha is composed of public representatives chosen by direct election on the basis of Universal Adult Suffrage. Jaishankar said the government of India has seen several reports of incidents of violence against Hindus and other minorities, their homes and business establishments and of attacks on temples/ religious places, including in the month of August 2024, across Bangladesh. He said the Indian government has taken a "serious note" of these incidents and shared its concerns with the Bangladesh government. Reports of attacks on temples and puja mandaps also came to light during the recent Durga Puja festival in Bangladesh, Jaishankar said. Jaishankar: ‘In last 5-6 years we’ve seen far more regional integration in Subcontinent than since partition of India’ He said the government of India had expressed its "serious concerns" regarding the attack on a Puja mandap in Tantibazar, Dhaka and theft at the Jashoreshwari Kali temple in Satkhira during Durga Puja 2024. Following these attacks, the government of Bangladesh had issued instructions for providing special security including deployment of Army and BGB to ensure peaceful celebrations of Durga Puja, Jaishankar said.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen has said that purchasing surplus fuel from India will be discussed tomorrow (September 6, 2022). He also hoped that pre-signing procedures of seven MoUs will be completed by tonight and will be handed over during bilateral talks between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi tomorrow. He was speaking to reporters after Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The foreign secretary said water sharing issues, including of Teesta and Ganges rivers, may come up during tomorrow’s meeting. Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Sunday said Bangladesh and India are likely to sign seven bilateral documents on water management, railway, science and technology, and information and broadcasting during Hasina's India visit. Jaishankar, earlier today, met PM Hasina at her place of residence (ITC Maurya). “The warmth and frequency of our leadership level contacts is a testimony to our close neighborly partnership,” he tweeted after the meeting. The foreign secretary said Dhaka wants more predictability on “strategic commodities” that Bangladesh needs. He said the issue will be discussed tomorrow so that India informs Bangladesh before taking any decision (regarding export of essentials). Also read: PM Hasina gets red carpet welcome in New Delhi The foreign secretary said Jaishankar and PM Hasina discussed the Russia-Ukraine war that has created tremendous pressure on the world economy. They discussed the enhancement of collaboration further to face the crisis jointly, he added. Talking about purchasing Russian fuel, he said it is not true that Bangladesh cannot purchase oil from Russia but they are assessing the technical specifications to that end. The foreign secretary said they are also looking into the medium for such transaction. “We can get India’s surplus fuel, under favorable terms. We will, of course, consider that,” Masud Bin Momen said. He said both Bangladesh and India placed their proposals to enhance the connectivity between the two countries. Bangladesh said priority should be given to those projects that will ensure interests of Bangladesh, India, Bhutan and Nepal. Talking about the grid connectivity, the foreign secretary said that there are issues of bringing electricity from Nepal and Bhutan while there is also the issue of taking electricity from one part of India to another. Both the Prime Minister and the Indian External Affairs Minister expressed their hopes on this issue, he said. Myanmar and Rohingya issues also came up for discussion as the Prime Minister talked about it. She said there are some incidents in Myanmar’s Rakhine state and there is apprehension that these incidents might impact the return of Rohingyas to their homeland. Also read: Momen not accompanying PM in India: Dipu Moni questions media’s use of “dropped” Jaishankar said that they are also witnessing some turmoil there and that is not good for anyone.PM Hasina’s visit will further strengthen the multifaceted relationship between the two countries, said India’s Ministry of External Affairs. A red carpet was rolled out as the Bangladesh premier arrived in Delhi on a four-day state visit at the invitation of her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. On arrival at Palam Airport at 11:40am local time (BD time 12:10pm) the PM was received by State Minister for Railways and Textiles of India Darshana Vikram Jardosh and Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Muhammad Imran. A group of women, clad in colourful saris, danced and played music to greet the Bangladesh leader at the airport. From the airport, Sheikh Hasina’s motorcade reached ITC Maurya, where she will be staying during the visit. The streets along the route were decked with national flags of Bangladesh and India. Portraits of Hasina and Modi were also installed along the way. The visit is seen as significant amid the Ukraine crisis, global economic downturn and ongoing Covid-19 pandemic as the two South Asian neighbours seek enhanced cooperation to overcome the challenges.

Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday left Dhaka for Bhutan after his "positive discussions" in Bangladesh.Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen saw him off at BAS Base Bangabandhu on Friday morning as he left for Paro by a special flight of Indian Air Force.Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Kumar Doraiswami was also present. Also read: Growing Dhaka-Delhi interactions good reflection of trust: JaishankarDuring his brief stay in Dhaka, Jaishankar met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence Gonobhaban on Thursday afternoon and invited her to visit India on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar met Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud in New Delhi on Tuesday and discussed various issues of mutual interest. They noted the steady progress in bilateral relations across all domains, and also discussed the media and public perceptions in that regard.

Two members of India's delegation to the Group of Seven foreign ministerial meeting in London have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, a source close to Japan-Britain relations said Wednesday. The development forced Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to pull out of attending the last-day session of the three-day meeting in the British capital. India is not a G-7 member but is participating in part of the talks as a guest, together with Australia, South Africa and Brunei, this year's chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Jaishankar, who has not tested positive for COVID-19, said Wednesday, "Was made aware yesterday evening of exposure to possible Covid positive cases." "As a measure of abundant caution and also out of consideration for others, I decided to conduct my engagements in the virtual mode. That will be the case with the G7 meeting today as well," he said in a Twitter post. On the last day of the meeting, the G-7 foreign ministers were to discuss ways to ensure fair access rights to COVID-19 vaccines and affirm ambitious action to curb global warming in the run-up to U.N. climate change talks Britain will host in November in Glasgow, according to delegates. On Tuesday, the foreign ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus officials from the European Union, held intensive talks on China and urged Beijing to play by international rules and norms and compete fairly with other countries, regardless of their sizes. The G-7 shared grave concerns about China's alleged human rights violation over the Muslim Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang autonomous region as well as the situation in Hong Kong. The seven leading democracies also focused on other regional issues such as the military coup and the crackdowns on peaceful protestors in Myanmar, Iran's nuclear and missile development and Russia's attempts to undermine Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The London meeting lays the groundwork for a G-7 summit slated for June 11-13 in Cornwall, southwestern England, in what will be the first such event since U.S. President Joe Biden took office in January. In a teleconference in February, the G-7 leaders vowed to make 2021 a turning point for promoting multilateralism, in contrast to Biden's predecessor Donald Trump's "America First" approach.

Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar concluded his day-long visit here on Thursday night reaffirming the robust Bangladesh-India partnership.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said the existing problems among neighbouring countries need to be resolved through discussions.

India has picked up “connectivity” with Bangladesh as a big goal for the years to come that might change the entire logistic and whole geo-economics of the region giving the Bay of Bengal a very different look. 

Bangladesh looks forward to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit this month to take forward the bilateral relations with some deliverables, said State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam on Tuesday.

Bangladesh and India will discuss new areas of cooperation and pending issues at Foreign Minister-level virtual talks on Tuesday with a special focus on projects under India-financed LoC, connectivity, trade and energy cooperation, officials said.