India on Friday said it desires a "positive, constructive and forward-looking" relationship with Bangladesh and remains ready to discuss all bilateral issues through the existing structured mechanisms, as the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed that the postponed India-Bangladesh consular dialogue will be rescheduled. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was addressing the bi-weekly media briefing in New Delhi, news agency ANI reported.
Source: ANI via BizzBuzz
"India desires a positive, constructive, and forward-looking relationship with Bangladesh. Accordingly, initiatives have been taken and meetings held under structured mechanisms in areas such as trade, railways, water resources, and border management, among others," Jaiswal said, when asked about reports that the consular dialogue had been postponed.
"The next round of India-Bangladesh consular dialogue, which will also take up the matters relating to revised travel arrangement, will be held on a mutually convenient date. India remains ready to discuss all matters or all bilateral issues with Bangladesh through these existing mechanisms, including at the technical level. So, the consular dialogue will be held at a mutually convenient date," he added.
Talks were set for November 17-18 in Dhaka
The fifth round of the consular dialogue was scheduled to be held in Dhaka on November 17-18 at the director-general level, but was postponed, officials in Dhaka and New Delhi confirmed earlier this week. The mechanism, instituted in 2017, is the regular channel for consular, visa and mutual legal assistance cooperation, and Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry held an inter-ministerial preparatory meeting on November 3. The agenda was expected to cover streamlining visas, repatriating citizens detained in either country, the release and return of fishermen, border management and mutual legal cooperation, according to The Business Standard, citing UNB. The fourth round was held in New Delhi on May 29, 2024.
On Hasina's extradition: 'a legal matter'
Asked about Dhaka's demand for the return of former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been residing in India since fleeing the August 2024 uprising that ended her 15-year rule, Jaiswal kept New Delhi's position brief: "Extradition is a legal matter and it will be dealt with accordingly," ANI reported.
Source: ANI via Jharkhand Times
Friday's briefing follows two earlier developments this month: Hasina's stated plan to return to Bangladesh in December, and her request to the Bangladesh Embassy in New Delhi for her passport and national identity card to facilitate that return.
Earlier this month, Hasina sought her passport and identity card back from the Bangladesh Embassy in New Delhi. Read the earlier story
What is solid
- The fifth consular dialogue, scheduled in Dhaka on November 17-18, has been postponed (officials of both countries; MEA briefing, November 13)
- The MEA says the dialogue will be held on a mutually convenient date and revised travel arrangements will be on its agenda
- Jaiswal described Hasina's extradition as a legal matter to be dealt with accordingly
What is only claimed
- Why the talks were postponed: diplomatic sources told The Hindu the postponement followed a spike in tensions over Hasina's proposed return to Bangladesh; the Bangladesh High Commission's press minister in New Delhi, Saidur Rahman, said the decision to postpone was taken at least four days before Hasina submitted her passport and identity-card application
In Dhaka, the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) dismissed Hasina's passport move as a political stunt. "Sheikh Hasina is making these moves, such as asking for her passport, to create instability... She has no future in Bangladeshi politics," BNP joint secretary general Khsirul Kabir Khokon told ANI — a claim by the BNP, presented here as the party's stated position.
What happens next: no new date has been announced. The two sides will finalise a mutually convenient date for the Dhaka round, where revised travel arrangements are expected to be discussed alongside visa and repatriation issues. Ties have continued through other channels in the meantime — Bangladesh's outgoing high commissioner Riaz Hamidullah paid farewell calls on External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on October 4 and on Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on October 7. Sources: ANI reports of the MEA briefing, November 13 (via BizzBuzz and Jharkhand Times); The Hindu, November 13; The Business Standard (UNB), November 12.