Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Tohidul Hussain on Sunday joined the Indian Ocean Conference in Muscat and shared stage with India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar along with Foreign Ministers of the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Oman, Iran and others. Foreign Affairs Adviser Hossain and his Indian counterpart Jaishankar are likely to hold a meeting on the sidelines of the 8th Indian Ocean Conference. "There is a possibility.....we expect that the meeting will be held," Spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Rafiqul Alam told reporters at the weekly briefing recently. Earlier, Foreign Adviser Hossain reached Muscat from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) If a bilateral meeting on the sidelines is held, this would be their second meeting since the formation of the interim government led by Prof Muhammad Yunus in August last year. Adviser Hossain and Minister Jaishankar had their first meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September last year. Indian Ocean Conference to be held in Australia on Feb 9-10 to chart roadmap for strengthening regional cooperation The 8th Indian Ocean Conference is being organised by India Foundation in association with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Oman. The theme of the Indian Ocean Conference this year is "Voyages to New Horizons of Maritime Partnership." The Indian Ocean Conference was started by India Foundation in 2016 in Singapore, with participation from 30 countries.

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.

Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has exchanged New Year’s greetings with his Bangladesh counterpart Dr AK Abdul Momen and said the year 2021 was a manifestation of deep solidarity and friendship between the two countries. "2021 was a demonstration of our deep solidarity and friendship. Agreed that we must build further on that foundation in 2022," he tweeted on Thursday. Also read: Jaishankar, Shringla hold separate meetings with Hasan Mahmud Dr Jaishankar congratulated Dr Momen on the cricket victory in New Zealand. He invited his Bangladesh counterpart to join the Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) meeting in India soon. Also read: Momen, Jaishankar discuss vaccine, Rohingya issues in Tashkent India’s relationship with Bangladesh, according to MEA, is one of the main pillars of its ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘Act East Policies’.    Bangladesh and India enjoy "robust and multifaceted" bilateral cooperation in diverse areas, including trade and connectivity, energy and power, water resources, border management, defence and security, culture and people-to-people links.

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

 

India has appreciated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's statesmanship in achieving "miraculous socio-economic progress".

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 and India on Thursday highlighted their shared objective with an approach “no crime, no death” to end killings along the border, noting that every death is regrettable.

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.

Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Tuesday night met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and discussed ways of strengthening cooperation between the two countries.