NSA Doval hosts Bangladesh Foreign Minister

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval hosted Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman for a dinner meeting on Tuesday, hours after the latter landed in New Delhi for a three-day visit aimed at repairing bilateral ties following more than 18 months of heightened diplomatic tension. It is the first high-level visit to India by a senior member of the new Bangladesh Nationalist Party Government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman that came to power in February following the parliamentary elections.

Various aspects of India-Bangladesh relations figured in the talks between Doval and Rahman with a focus on charting a new momentum in the ties, people familiar with the matter said. There is no official word on the meeting yet.

Foreign Minister Rahman’s delegation included Humayun Kabir, foreign affairs adviser to the prime minister. Rahman is scheduled to hold extensive talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday. The Bangladesh foreign minister will also meet Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

Warm welcome to Foreign Minister Rahman of Bangladesh on his arrival in New Delhi today, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on social media.

India and Bangladesh share warm and historic ties anchored in strong people-to-people relations, he said, adding Rahman’s visit will “further bolster” India-Bangladesh partnership.