In A First After Hasina's Ouster, Jaishankar Meets Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Adviser On UNGA Sidelines

External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday met Bangladesh foreign affairs adviser Md Touhid Hossain at New York, during his official visit to the United States. This is the first meeting between the government representatives of the two countries after the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led government across the border.

Sharing a picture of the meeting in a post on X, Jaishankar said: “Had a meeting with Foreign Affairs Adviser Md. Touhid Hossain of Bangladesh in New York this evening. The conversation focused on our bilateral ties.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus could not meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly due to different arrival and departure timings.

The bilateral meet between Jaishankar and Hossain comes amid rising anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh in wake of the fall of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government. Early in August, Hasina was forced to resign and leave her country after a mass uprising against government quota in jobs that soon turned violent.

After her 15-year rule came to an end, she has been living in India. Her stay, however, has become a contentious issue between the Centre and the interim government in Bangladesh. Yunus and some other leaders have called for her extradition as she faces at least 155 cases — 136 for murder, seven for crimes against humanity and genocide, three for abduction, eight for attempted murder and one for the attack on a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) procession.

On September 21, Hossain had said Yunus will not be meeting Modi in New York due to different schedules. He had, however, said he will hold a bilateral meeting with Jaishankar to advance the relationship between the two neighbours, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

“Sorting out all issues, we want to further advance our relationship based on mutual respect and fairness. Our meeting with Jaishankar is almost certain. We have to acknowledge that there is a certain level of tension in our relations with India. To resolve any issues, we can’t simply deny their existence. We will definitely try to move past the tension and establish a working relationship,” he had said, as per the news report.

(With PTI inputs)