Indian foreign secy likely to visit Dhaka on 10 December for talks: HT

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is expected to visit Dhaka next week "for consultations" on 10 December, reports the Hindustan Times. 

A diplomatic source also confirmed the issue to the UNB. 

This will be the first visit of a secretary-level Indian government official since the fall of the Awami League government and the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, who has been staying in India since 5 August. 

Though both Bangladesh and Indian sides are yet to make an official announcement about the visit, Misri is likely to be in Bangladesh on 10 December for the annual foreign office consultations, reported HT, quoting people familiar with preparations for the trip in both countries. 

They said the visit of the Indian foreign secretary was decided on at a meeting between India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Bangladesh's interim government's Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York on 23 September. 

At the time, the meeting between Jaishankar and Touhid was the first high-level interaction between the two neighbouring countries since the interim government took charge in August after the July mass uprising ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. 

"As things stand, the foreign secretary is slated to visit Bangladesh on 10 December. But we will have to see how things pan out with a week still to go for the visit and the current state of relations," one of the people familiar with the developments told HT.

Asked whether the scheduled Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) will be held this month, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain said, "I think it will be held."

Earlier on 20 November, Bangladesh Foreign Ministry officials first talked about a potential visit of an Indian delegation, headed by the country's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, in early December to address "political, security, and bilateral issues between the two countries."

Relations between the close-door neighbours became strained after Sheikh Hasina fled to India on 5 August.

In the changed political context, India has raised concerns about alleged "persecution of minorities" in Bangladesh, restricted visa issuance, allowing only those for treatment and third-country travel, and suspended direct train services. 

What's on the agenda for the meeting?

A senior official of the South Asia Wing of Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the foreign office consultation meeting primarily focuses on political and diplomatic relations between the two countries. 

It also involves updates on ongoing agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs), as well as the implementation progress of decisions made in previous meetings. New proposals from both sides are also discussed, he said.

This year's meeting will include new proposals from Bangladesh, with several ministries putting forward fresh suggestions for discussion. Whether these proposals will be included in the meeting's agenda is yet to be decided, he added.

Over 20 agreements and more than 65 MoUs exist between Bangladesh and India, although there are no public documents regarding the details of these agreements. 

Adviser Touhid Hossain has mentioned in several media discussions that these agreements will be reviewed, and any necessary new ones will be negotiated. An extradition agreement between Bangladesh and India for the handover of fugitives or criminals has been in place since 2013. 

On 17 November, during a speech to the nation, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said, "The efforts for the trial of the killings in July-August are progressing well. We will also seek the return of the fallen autocrat Sheikh Hasina from India."

Project sources say India's Line of Credit loan is funding 17 ongoing projects in Bangladesh, with eight more in the development project proposal stage. In some cases, the pace of disbursement has been slow, prompting the Economic Relations Division to propose discussions on the matter.

In addition to these, the agenda for the meeting are likely to cover issues such as border security, water sharing, weather forecasting, rail connectivity, resumption of all types of visas, ensuring the presence of project contractors, and the use of ports and rivers. Bangladesh is preparing the meeting agenda accordingly.