Foreign Secretary Misri to visit Dhaka tomorrow amid frosty India-Bangladesh ties

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to address concerns over attacks on minorities during high-level visit to Bangladesh.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is expected to raise with Dhaka India's concerns over attacks on Hindus and other minorities as he embarks on a day-long visit to Bangladesh on Monday (December 9, 2024), in the first high-level trip from New Delhi after a massive uprising ended deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's 15-year rule in August.

Mr. Misri is scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart Md. Jashim Uddin and meet the country's de-facto foreign minister Mohammad Touhid Hossain.

It is learnt that the Indian foreign secretary is also likely to call on Bangladesh's interim leader and Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus during his nearly 12-hour visit to Dhaka.

On its part, Bangladesh is likely to convey its concerns over India continuing to provide shelter to Hasina. Last month, Mr. Yunus said his government will seek Hasina's extradition from India, people familiar with Mr. Misri's visit said.

The close ties between India and Bangladesh came under severe strain after Hasina was forced to leave the country in the face of a massive anti-government protest in August. Mr. Yunus came to power days after Hasina took shelter in India.

The relations deteriorated further in recent weeks over attacks on Hindus and the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das.

There have been spate of incidents of violence against Hindus and other minorities as well as attacks on temples in the neighbouring country in the last few weeks that triggered strong concerns in New Delhi.