Foreign Secy Misri to visit Bangladesh on December 9, lead Foreign Office Consultations: MEA

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will make a visit to Bangladesh on December 9 and meet his counterpart there, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday.

Misri will lead the Foreign Office Consultations with Bangladesh and attend several other meetings during his visit.

This comes amid strained ties between New Delhi and Dhaka following reports of several attacks on minorities, especially Hindus under the current interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.

“The Foreign Secretary is scheduled to visit Bangladesh on 9th of December. He will meet his counterpart and there will be several other meetings during the visit. Foreign Office Consultations led by Foreign Secretary is a structured engagement between India and Bangladesh. We look forward to this meeting,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in the weekly press briefing on Friday.

Asked about the situation on ground in Bangladesh and the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, MEA affirmed hope that the legal rights of the concerned individuals are respected and the trial is conducted in a “fair and transparent” manner.

“As far as situation on ground regarding the individuals you want, we want to reiterate our position again that they have legal rights and we hope that these legal rights will be respected and that the trial will be fair and transparent. They will get a fair and transparent trial,” Jaiswal further added.

Chinmoy Krishna Das, who is associated with the Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote, was arrested in Dhaka on November 25 on ‘sedition’ charges. The arrest followed a complaint file on October 31 by a local politician that accused Chinmoy Das and others of disrespecting Bangladesh’s national flag during a rally of the Hindu community.

On December 3, a Bangladesh court set January 2, 2025 as the next date of hearing in the case. The Chattogram court deferred the hearing on the bail petition of Chinmoy Krishna Das to January 2, The Daily Star reported. Chattogram Metropolitan Session Judge Saiful Islam set the new date for the hearing as the defence lawyer was absent from the court.

Earlier on December 4, Press Secretary to the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh’s interim government, Shafiqul Alam, said that Foreign Secretary of two nations will hold talks on issues of mutual interest.

Speaking to ANI, Shafiqul Alam said, “We were looking forward to the meeting of the visit of the Indian Foreign Secretary, the both Foreign Secretaries are going to talk issues of mutual interest and we hope these meetings are going to help deepen ties between the two neighbours.”

On being asked about the ties with India, Alam said, “We think that our relations with India remain okay and we are trying to better our relationship. Both countries are trying to deepen our relationship and we hope in the coming days and coming months the relations will be much better.”

Last week, during the weekly media briefing, MEA urged Bangladesh’s interim government should “live up to its responsibility” and take steps to protect the minorities.

Expressing concern over the rise of “extremist rhetoric, increasing incidents of violence and provocation,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India has consistently and strongly raised the issue of targeted attacks on Hindus and other minorities with the Bangladesh government.

Earlier, the Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pranay Verma was summoned by Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry, after protesters in Agartala, Tripura attacked the premises of the Bangladesh acting High Commission, reported Bangladesh newspaper Daily Star.

Following the incident, India expressed ‘deep regret’ and decided to step up security arrangements for the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi and its other diplomatic premises in the country.