Bangladesh’s National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman has held a meeting with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval and his team in New Delhi.
Khalilur, who led the Bangladesh delegation, at the time also invited Doval, the national security adviser of India, to visit Bangladesh at his convenience.
The invitation was extended during the meeting today (19 November), held on the sidelines of the Seventh NSA-level Meeting of the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC), according to a statement issued by the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi.
The two delegations also discussed the works of the Colombo Security Conclave and key bilateral issues, including security, said the statement.
On 14 November, the interim government announced that Khalilur would lead the Bangladesh delegation to the Seventh NSA-level meeting of the CSC in New Delhi on 19-20 November.
Doval had extended the invitation to Khalilur to attend this regional forum, according to the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing.
The bilateral meeting took place a day before the NSAs of five countries, including Bangladesh and India, meet under the banner of CSC at Hyderabad tomorrow.
This was the first interface between the two NSAs in the midst of severe strains in relations between Dhaka and New Delhi in the wake of the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on 5 August last year.
The meeting today took place even as contacts between the top leadership of India and Bangladesh, since the interim government took power in Dhaka, have been few and far between.
Ajit Doval is hosting his counterparts from member states, including the Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Seychelles is participating as an Observer State, while Malaysia has been invited as a guest.
Meanwhile, according to the UNB report, when asked whether Khalilur would raise the Hasina’s extradition issue with India, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain said, “I don’t want to interfere with the agenda that he (Khalilur Rahman) has.”
Touhid Hossain, however, said that if feels necessary he (Khalilur Rahman) can certainly raise the issue but they will go by through their official channel.
On 17 November, Bangladesh urged the government of India to immediately hand over former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, both already convicted, to its authorities.
The CSC’s core objective is to promote regional security by addressing transnational threats and challenges of common concern to the member States.
There are five pillars of cooperation under the CSC, namely maritime safety and security; countering terrorism and radicalisation; combating trafficking and transnational organised crime; cyber security and protection of critical infrastructure and technology; and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, an official told UNB.
Security and intelligence expert Brig Gen (retd) Md Manzur Qader has described the visit of Bangladesh’s national security adviser to India—and the meeting with his Indian counterpart—as “significant” for bilateral relations.
He said, “Following the recent verdict against Sheikh Hasina, the statement issued by India appears, in many ways, to be supportive of that ruling. In this context, Dr Khalil’s visit has created a new opportunity to strengthen relations between the two countries based on mutual respect.”
Manzur added, “During the tenure of the previous government, many in Bangladesh believed that India favoured a particular political party. But given the current context, India’s recent stance and this high-level meeting indicate a pragmatic approach to working with any government in the future.”
“This visit offers India an important opportunity to demonstrate that it is willing to work with any administration on the basis of mutual respect,” he added.
Source: https://www.tbsnews.net/foreign-policy/national-security-adviser-khalilur-meets-indian-counterpart-ajit-doval-delhi-1289911
