Foreign secretaries meet in Dhaka amid Bangladesh-India tensions

Amid the tensions and dip in Bangladesh-India bilateral relations, the pre-scheduled meeting of the foreign secretaries of the two countries will be held in Dhaka next week.

Diplomatic sources in Dhaka and Delhi told Prothom Alo on Wednesday that the meeting between Foreign Secretary Md. Jasim Uddin and Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is set for 9 December. Earlier, the meeting had been scheduled for 10 December.

When asked about the Dhaka-Delhi Foreign Secretary-level meeting on Wednesday afternoon, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain told newspersons at the ministry that the meeting might be advanced by a day. If not, it will take place on 10 December.

He said, "We want good relations. But they must be reciprocal. We have to work toward that objective.”

Dhaka-Delhi relations have been under significant strain since the political shift on 5 August, following the student-public uprising in Bangladesh. The international community largely welcomed the inevitable decline of Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian rule.

However, even four months after the change, the neighbouring country has not yet accepted it. On the contrary, bitterness has grown, as India repeatedly raises concerns alleging minority oppression.

Recently, several Hindutva organisations carried out an unprecedented attack on the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala, alleging minority oppression.

Additionally, protests have taken place near Bangladesh missions in Kolkata and Mumbai. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already summoned the Indian High Commission in Dhaka to protest the attack on the Bangladesh mission, and consular activities, including visa services, have been suspended at the mission. Protests are continuing in and outside Dhaka in response to the attack. As a result, tensions have intensified between the two South Asian neighbours.

A responsible government official told Prothom Alo that the tension that has developed between the two countries since August is not only new but also rare since independence.

This is the first time in five years that an Indian High Commissioner has been summoned by Dhaka. Bangladesh has also sent counter-protests in response to statements from the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs several times during this period. Amid this, the meeting of the foreign secretaries of the two countries is set to take place.

This will be the first high-level meeting between Bangladesh and India in Dhaka since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government.

However, in September, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York, Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain held discussions with Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar. At that time, Touhid Hossain proposed organising a meeting of the foreign secretaries to benefit the relations between the two countries.

When asked, Foreign Secretary Md Jasim Uddin told Prothom Alo that although the meeting of the foreign secretaries of the two countries is part of routine diplomatic activities, this time it will be held at a critical juncture in history.

As a result, the planned meeting in Dhaka holds special significance compared to previous ones.

The meeting could play an important role in alleviating the ongoing uneasiness between the two countries. Furthermore, its continuation will create an environment conducive to initiating discussions in various sectors between the two nations.

Since the political change on 5 August and the assumption of office by the interim government on 8 August, the discomfort and tension in the relations between Dhaka and Delhi have become increasingly visible. After Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as the head of the interim government, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed him with a post on X (formerly Twitter).

In that post, Modi emphasised advancing bilateral relations and the security of minorities in Bangladesh. Subsequently, Dr Yunus phoned Modi regarding the relations between the two countries.

During the phone call, Modi reiterated his concerns about the situation of minorities. As time went on, public statements, comments, and social media posts by leaders from both countries made it clear that the "golden chapter of relations" between the two neighbours had been government-centric.

Following the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India, where she has remained in Delhi since then.

Bangladesh has issued several statements clearly stating that her comments from India are hindering efforts to normalise relations. However, Delhi has yet to officially inform Dhaka about Sheikh Hasina’s stay in India.

In this context, the meeting between Jaishankar and Touhid Hossain, mediated by the United States, took place in New York. During that period, protests by some American citizens of Indian origin, accusing Bangladesh of minority oppression, occurred in New York.

While statements and remarks against India from Bangladesh’s leadership and social spheres began to subside, the opposite has been happening in India.

In particular, social media and several mainstream media outlets in India have capitalised on the issue of minorities, spreading misinformation and false narratives about Bangladesh.

The arrest of the religious leader Chinmoy Krishna Das and the speculation about a potential ban on ISKCON have further complicated the situation.

Meanwhile, Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar addressed the Lok Sabha regarding the issues surrounding Chinmoy Krishna Das and ISKCON.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi took to her X handle, writing, "I appeal to the central government to intervene in this matter and strongly raise the issue of ensuring the security of minorities with the Bangladesh government."

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also spoke in the assembly, demanding the deployment of UN peacekeepers in Bangladesh.

However, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor opposed her statement, saying that Mamata had no understanding of how the UN deploys peacekeepers in a country.

Amid the tensions in Dhaka-Delhi relations, the BGB-BSF Director General level meeting has been postponed for the past four months. The meeting, which was scheduled to be held in Delhi from 18 to 20 November, was postponed after Dhaka requested a delay in late October.

However, despite the tensions, three official-level meetings took place between the two countries in October and November. These meetings focused on water sharing, land borders, and land ports.

In October, members of the Joint River Commission (JRC) held a technical meeting in Dhaka to discuss the flow of the Ganges waters. In November, the Land Border Security Committee met in Kolkata, and the Joint Working Group (JWG) on land ports held a meeting in Delhi.

According to diplomatic sources, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will arrive in Dhaka on a special Indian Air Force flight on the morning of 9 December. He will first hold a formal meeting with Foreign Secretary Md Jasim Uddin.

After lunch, the Indian Foreign Secretary will pay a courtesy call on Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain, followed by a courtesy call on Dr Muhammad Yunus, the Chief Adviser to the Interim Government. Vikram Misri will return to Delhi later that afternoon.

Since the political change in August, the United States has been actively working to normalise Dhaka-Delhi relations. The US State Department has held discussions on this matter at various levels in both Delhi and Washington.

Prior to his visit to Dhaka last September, US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs Donald Lu visited Delhi. After his trip to Dhaka, he made a one-day stopover in Delhi before heading to Washington.

Following his discussions with Bangladeshi officials in Dhaka, he also met with Indian Foreign Minister Vikram Misri in Delhi. The main focus of their discussions was the improvement of Dhaka-Delhi relations and the stability of South Asia.

Inquiries in Washington last Saturday revealed that the US State Department remains actively engaged in ensuring that Bangladesh-India relations move in a positive direction. US State Department officials are in regular contact with Bangladeshi officials to stay informed about developments in Bangladesh.

Asked, research organisation Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) president and former ambassador of Bangladesh to the US M Humayun Kabir told Prothom Alo that it is essential to establish a relation based on respect and trust for the sake of both the countries.

He remarked that the meeting of the two foreign secretaries was an appropriate forum for this.

M Humayun Kabir further said that it is necessary to hold discussions between the two countries to resolve issues. This meeting is very important to normalise the ongoing abnormal situation existing in the bilateral relations of the two countries.

Diplomatic analysts say the people of Bangladesh consider the kind of bilateral relation that existed in the last 15 years as unilateral. Discussion on this has increased in the public sphere. That is why India should focus on taking the relations ahead, realising the expectation of the people of Bangladesh in the context of changed circumstances.

They say there is a scope to normalise the relation dispelling the lack of mutual understanding in the foreign secretary level meeting.

*The report, originally published in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo, has been rewritten in English by Farjana Liakat