New Delhi: In his second meeting with Indian external affairs minister Jaishankar in five months, Bangladesh’s interim government foreign affairs adviser, Mohammad Touhid Hossain, urged India to agree to a foreign secretaries’ meeting under the SAARC framework – something that has not taken place in nine years.
The request was made, according to the Bangladesh foreign ministry’s readout, when Hossain spoke to Jaishankar on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Conference in Oman on February 16. They had previously met in New York last September.
Bangladesh’s chief adviser, Mohammed Yunus, has frequently talked about reviving the South Asian body at several platforms. He had also raised it when Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri visited Dhaka in December 2024.
The 2016 SAARC summit in Pakistan was cancelled after India withdrew, following the attack on the military base at Uri. The last meeting of the SAARC Standing Committee which comprises foreign secretaries was held in March 2016.
The regional grouping has remained dormant, with India instead pushing for sub-regional cooperation through BIMSTEC, which excludes countries in the western part of South Asia.
India’s only public comment on the bilateral meeting came in a post on X from Jaishankar, who stated that the “conversation was focused on our bilateral relationship, as also on BIMSTEC,” without mentioning SAARC.
The Bangladeshi readout was silent on BIMSTEC, even as Dhaka set to assume its chairmanship in a few months when the next leaders’ summit is held in Thailand.
Hossain spoke about the “importance of holding the meeting of SAARC Standing Committee and requested consideration of the Government of India in this regard”, stated the Bangladeshi foreign ministry.
It also stated that Bangladesh foreign affairs adviser “emphasized the importance of initiating the discussion for renewal of the Ganges Water Treaty”.
When then Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina visited New Delhi, a key announcement was the decision to begin discussions on renewing the 1996 Ganga Waters Treaty, which expires in 2026. Less than two months later, Hasina was back in Delhi – this time as the toppled head of state, following her government’s ouster amid student-led protests.
Since the change in government, tensions between the two capitals have remained high, given the perception that Hasina was closely aligned with India. Bangladesh has officially requested Hasina’s extradition so she can face legal proceedings, but India is yet to respond.
While India has raised concerns over continued attacks on minorities, particularly Hindus, Bangladesh has maintained that the figures are exaggerated.
The Bangladesh foreign ministry stated that “both sides recognized the challenges the two neighbours are facing in terms of bilateral relations and discussed about the necessity to work together to address those.”
Meeting ahead of talks between the border forces’ chiefs, both foreign ministers have expressed hope that the “various border related issues would be discussed and resolved during the meeting.”
