The head of Bangladesh's interim government, Muhammad Yunus, wanted a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi parallel to the United Nations General Assembly. Even if the meeting wasn't held, Foreign Minister of India S. Jaishankar and Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain met in New York. The Indian Foreign Minister said on social media that their meeting took place on Monday evening local time in New York. During the meeting, both of them agreed to take forward the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India. Modi and Yunus attended the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly. S. Jaishankar and Touhid Hossain are currently in New York as members of the delegation of the two leaders. This was the first foreign minister-level meeting between the two countries after Sheikh Hasina's ouster.
In a post on social media after the meeting, Jaishankar said, "Had a meeting with Foreign Affairs Adviser Md. Touhid Hossain of Bangladesh in New York this evening. We discussed our bilateral relations. On the other hand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh also posted a picture of this meeting on social media. On the sidelines of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Foreign Affairs Adviser of Bangladesh Md. Touhid Hossain met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and discussed issues of mutual interest between Bangladesh and India. However, neither side has said whether there was any talk of extradition of Sheikh Hasina, who is an uncomfortable issue between the two countries.
Sheikh Hasina came to India after resigning as Prime Minister on August 5 in the face of a student uprising in Bangladesh. With this, the political change in Bangladesh took place. This led to strained relations between Bangladesh and India. The Indian prime minister also talked about taking forward relations with Bangladesh. But Yunus spoke of several conditions. Yunus also said that the agreements signed with India during Sheikh Hasina's tenure will be reviewed.
This was the first direct meeting between the high-level representatives of the two countries after the formation of the interim government in Bangladesh. Before the meeting, Touhid acknowledged that Bangladesh's bilateral relations with India were strained. The Bangladesh foreign adviser also said that relations between the two countries will be taken forward on the basis of mutual respect.
