When Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was visiting Bangladesh for a day, he called for settling issues regarding the protection of the minority people and the attacks on culture and religion in the country. The meeting with Misri on Tuesday, accompanied by an IAF aircraft, was the first time a senior official from the two countries has met since Sheikh Hasina was toppled as Prime Minister on August 5.
The conversations with Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain and other important decision-makers allowed us to discuss the state of bilateral relations when tensions emerged recently. “Today’s discussions helped us to look at each other as partners and reconsider our relations. I was glad to receive blunt and fair feedback from those I discussed with,” Misri said. He said: “We also mentioned the latest trends, which are unfortunate events related to assaults on cultural and religious sites.”
Misri’s visit to Dhaka first introduced him to Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Mohammad Jashim Uddin before they formally sat in the State Guest House Padma. Thus, during the current meeting, both parties engaged in intense deliberations with the common objective of seeking ways to continue cooperation despite the existing hurdles in the relationship between the two countries.
The relations between India and Bangladesh have been warmed up recently over the political instabilities and communal riots. Present scenarios like the removal of Sheikh Hasina after anti-government marches and the elevation of the current Nobel laureate, Mohammad Yunus, have changed the political map. On top of that, attacks on Hindus and the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das have raised concerns in New Delhi.
It has attracted the attention of the international community; Misri visited after a short meeting with Bangladesh Adviser Hossain and Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at the UN General Assembly in September. New Delhi goes on to advocate for policies to protect the minority and promote the stability of cultural relations in Bangladesh.
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