External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Touhid Hossain on Sunday to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries and BIMSTEC.

“Met Foreign Affairs Adviser Md. Touhid Hossain of the Interim Government of Bangladesh. The conversation was focused on our bilateral relationship, as also on BIMSTEC,” the minister said in a post on X.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) includes seven countries: Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, and Nepal.

Bangladesh will be the next chair of the BIMSTEC summit, which will take place in Bangkok from April 2 to 4 this year.

Hossain met Jaishankar on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Conference in Oman as part of efforts to prevent further strains in bilateral ties.

The close ties between India and Bangladesh came under severe strain after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, who was forced to leave the country in the face of a massive anti-government protest in August last year.

Nobel Peace laureate Mohammad Yunus came to power days after Hasina fled to India.

The relations deteriorated further over attacks on minority Hindus in Bangladesh.

There had been a spate of incidents of violence against Hindus and other minorities, as well as attacks on temples in Bangladesh after Hasina’s ouster that triggered strong concerns in New Delhi.

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