During his official trip to the United States, External affairs minister S. Jaishankar held a meeting with Bangladesh foreign affairs adviser Md Touhid Hossain in New York on Tuesday. This marks the initial encounter between the government officials from both nations following the removal of the Sheikh Hasina-led government in the neighboring country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus missed the chance to meet at the UN General Assembly as their arrival and departure timings did not align.
The meeting between Jaishankar and Hossain happened as anti-India feelings rise in Bangladesh following the downfall of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government. In August, Hasina was compelled to step down and depart from her nation due to a large-scale revolt against job quotas in the government that quickly escalated into violence.
Following the conclusion of her 15-year reign, she took up residence in India. Nevertheless, her presence has stirred up conflict between the Centre and the interim government in Bangladesh.
Yunus and several other leaders are demanding her extradition due to facing a minimum of 155 cases, with 136 for murder, seven for crimes against humanity and genocide, three for abduction, eight for attempted murder, and one for attacking a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) procession.
Hossain announced on September 21 that Yunus and Modi will be unable to meet in New York because of conflicting schedules. However, he announced plans to have a one-on-one meeting with Jaishankar to further enhance the relationship between the two neighboring countries, as per The Daily Star newspaper.
We aim to improve our relationship by resolving all problems and continuing to prioritise mutual respect and fairness. It is highly likely that we will have a meeting with Jaishankar. We must recognise that there is an inevitable level of tension in our upcoming meeting with Jaishankar. We must recognise that there exists a certain degree of tension in our interactions with India. To address problems, we must not just ignore them. According to the news report, he had stated that they would make an effort to overcome the tension and create a functional relationship.