Foreign Minister S.C. during a multilateral conference in Muscat, Foreign Affairs Advisor of the Interim Government of Bangladesh. The meeting with Jaishankar has sought support from India to revive SAARC.
After the meeting of the two leaders during the 8th Indian Ocean Conference (IOC) in Muscat, Oman on Sunday, Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, “Hussain demands to start discussion for renovation of Ganga Water Treaty in 1996 Emphasized the need to call a meeting of K and SAARC Standing Committee and requested New Delhi to support in this matter. ”
The new interim government of Bangladesh, headed by Mohammad Yunus, is emphasizing on the revival of the South Asian Regional Cooperation Organization (SAARC or SAARC), which has long been suspended due to the India-Pakistan struggle.
After the meeting, Jaishankar did not mention SAARS in a post on ‘X’.
Jaishankar posted on ‘X’, “met Mohammad Tauheed Hussain, advisor to foreign affairs of the interim government of Bangladesh. The conversation was focused on our bilateral relations as well as BIMSTEC. ”
This year, after the sixth BIMSTEC summit to be held in Bangkok from 2 to 4 April this year, Bangladesh will replace Thailand.
The statement said, “The two sides discussed the need to recognize the challenges faced by the two neighbors and work together to deal with them,” the statement said.
This was the second meeting of the two foreign ministers after meeting the United Nations General Assembly in September last year. A month before this, the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had to step down after the violent student movement and Yunus took power.
After Hasina was overthrown, close ties between India and Bangladesh over attacks on minority Hindus in Bangladesh were under severe tension.
There was an increase in incidents of violence against Hindus and other minorities, as well as attacks on temples in Bangladesh, causing deep concerns in New Delhi.
Bangladesh and India have more than 4,000 km long border, there is also sporadic disturbance.
Heads of the border forces of the two countries are scheduled to meet at the annual conference in New Delhi this week. The statement said, “Both sides also noticed that the meeting at the level of the Director General of Border Security Forces of both countries is going to be held in New Delhi on February 18-20, 2025.”
The statement said that Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs advisor and Indian Foreign Minister hoped that various issues related to the border would be discussed and resolved during the meeting.