Jaishankar, Bangladesh FM Mahmud hold delegation-level talks; discuss bilateral ties, defence, economic partnership

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held discussions with his Bangladesh counterpart Hasan Mahmud on wide-ranging areas of bilateral relations, including defence and economic cooperation, as well as people-to-people exchanges.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud is on an official visit to India from February 7-9. This is his first foreign visit after assuming office last month.

EAM S Jaishankar held delegation-level talks with Mahmud and hosted a dinner in his honour on Wednesday.

“During their interaction, the two Ministers reviewed the progress in wide-ranging areas of bilateral relations, including cross-border connectivity, economic and development partnership, cooperation in defence and security, power, energy, water resources and people-to-people exchanges. They also discussed areas of future engagement in line with the national development goals of the two countries, including the visions of “Viksit Bharat 2047” and “Smart Bangladesh 2041″,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and multilateral issues of common interest. They expressed commitment to further enhance their collaboration to promote sub-regional cooperation within the framework of BIMSTEC, IORA and BBIN, the statement added.

Taking to his X handle, EAM Jaishankar said that the two leaders discussed steps to forge ahead in the vibrant and people-centric partnership between New Delhi and Dhaka.

“Pleased to welcome Bangladesh Foreign Minister @DrHasanMahmud62 on his first official visit to India. Discussed steps to forge ahead in our vibrant and people-centric partnership. Also exchanged views on regional and international developments,” the EAM posted on X.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Mahmud visited Raj Ghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi. He also held a meeting with the National Security Advisor Shri Ajit Doval.

During the visit, Mahmud will also call on President Droupadi Murmu and hold a meeting with Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal.

He will travel to Kolkata on February 9 before concluding his visit.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister’s visit to India is part of the ongoing high-level exchanges between the two countries and has enabled both sides to chart out the course of their forward-looking engagement during the new term of the Government in Bangladesh, the MEA stated.

The visit follows the bilateral meeting between the two Foreign Ministers on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement Summit held in Uganda last month and has contributed to further strengthening of the traditional, long-standing friendship and cooperation between the two countries, it added.