New Delhi, April 7 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will host his Bangladeshi counterpart Khalilur Rahman on Wednesday for extensive talks as part of a significant initiative to mend bilateral ties after a period of heightened diplomatic tension lasting over 18 months.
Rahman's three-day visit to New Delhi, starting on Tuesday, is the first high-level visit by a senior member of the new Bangladesh Nationalist Party government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
Relations between India and Bangladesh experienced a major downturn following the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus coming to power after the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024.
The two sides initiated efforts to stabilize relations after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, represented India at the inauguration of Tarique Rahman as the prime minister in Dhaka on February 17.
Tarique Rahman became prime minister following his party's landslide victory in the parliamentary elections.
The focus of Wednesday's meeting between the external affairs minister and his Bangladeshi counterpart will be to repair the ties and initiate a new phase in the relationship, people familiar with the matter said.
The Ganga water treaty was signed in December 1996, which provides for a mechanism for sharing of the river water between the two riparian states.
It is not immediately known if the contentious issue relating to the sharing of the waters of the Teesta river will be discussed in the talks between the two foreign ministers.
Another contentious issue has been Dhaka's demand to extradite former prime minister Hasina. Hasina, 78, has been living in India after she fled Dhaka following the collapse of her government in August 2024 in the face of a massive anti-government agitation.
The renewal of the Ganga Waters Treaty, which expires this year, ways to bolster trade and Bangladesh's request to India for additional fuel supplies in view of the shortage caused by the West Asia conflict are likely to be discussed.
The Bangladesh foreign minister is also likely to meet National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
