Explore Business Standard
Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.
India-Bangladesh
India has assumed the chairmanship of the Bay of Bengal Inter-Governmental Organisation at the 13th Governing Council Meeting in Male, Maldives.India assumed the chairmanship in the presence of senior government representatives from Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said in a press release.The event was part of the high-level conference 'Policy Guidance for Mainstreaming Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) in Small-Scale Fisheries', hosted by the Ministry of Fisheries & Ocean Resources of the Maldives government, in collaboration with the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO), that has been successfully convened from February 20 to 22, 2025, in Lankanfinolhu, Maldives.As per the Ministry, the Indian delegation was led by Abhilaksh Likhi, Secretary, Department of Fisheries. He highlighted that India is committed to upholding and building upon the achievements of the Bay of Bengal
India and Bangladesh have decided to establish a new communication link between the deputy commanders of their respective border-guarding forces and identified about 99 fresh patches for erecting a fence along their shared border. The decisions were finalised during the biannual director general-level talks between the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) that concluded here on Thursday, sources in the security establishment told PTI. This was the first time that a high-level meeting between the two forces took place after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh on August 5 last year. The three-day talks, held from February 18 to February 20, went off in a "cordial manner", with the Indian side able to "convince" its neighbour about the importance of fencing on the remaining areas of the 4,096-km-long frontier that spans across five Indian states on the eastern flank, the sources said. A total of 864.48 km of the front remains unfenced, .
Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus Monday assured former prime minister Khaleda Zia's party that his interim government is preparing to hold general elections by December, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's top leader said. He (Yunus) informed us that they are working to stage the election by December, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told journalists after a meeting with the interim government chief. "We have repeatedly urged the government to hold polls quickly. We have once again pressed them on this matter. By completing the minimum reforms, engaging in discussions with the reform commissions, and reaching a consensus, we believe elections can be held swiftly," he added. Alamgir also criticised the government over the recent incidents across the country, including the one at Dhanmondi, where the residence of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was demolished by a mob. "The government cannot evade responsibility for these incidents," he said. "We hav
Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain is likely to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Conference in Oman next week as part of efforts to prevent further strains in bilateral ties, according to a media report here on Monday. The 8th Indian Ocean Conference (IOC 2025) is set to take place in Muscat on February 16-17. Organised by the New Delhi-based research institute India Foundation in collaboration with Oman's foreign ministry, the conference serves as a key platform for regional dialogue. Prothom Alo newspaper reported that the two leaders are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the conference. Diplomatic sources indicated on Sunday that Bangladesh may use this meeting to convey a message to prevent further strains in bilateral relations between the two countries. Last month, the Indian foreign minister extended an invitation to Bangladesh's foreign adviser to participate in the conference, the report said. If the ..
Since August, reports have cited deaths of 23 Hindus and 152 incidents of attack on Hindu temples in Bangladesh, the government said on Friday. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh in a written response to a query in the Lok Sabha also said "during the last two months (November 26, 2024 till January 25, 2025), 76 cases of incidents of attacks against Hindus have been reported in Bangladesh". The government was asked about the details of cases of harassment caused to Hindus in Bangladesh reported during the last two months; the number of Hindu people who have been injured or died along with the number of attacks on Hindu temples in Bangladesh. "Since August reports have cited deaths of 23 Hindus and 152 incidents of attack on Hindu temples in Bangladesh," he said in his response. The Government of India has taken note of the incidents of violence against Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh and shared its concerns with the government of Bangladesh, the ..
India on Friday summoned Bangladesh's acting High Commissioner Nural Islam and conveyed that it is regrettable that regular statements made by Bangladesh authorities continue to "portray India negatively" by holding New Delhi responsible for internal governance issues. The Government of India will make efforts for a mutually beneficial relationship and "we expect that Bangladesh will reciprocate similarly without vitiating the atmosphere", the Ministry of External Affairs' official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a written response to media queries on the summoning. "The Bangladesh Acting High Commissioner to India, Mr. Md. Nural Islam, was summoned by MEA to the South Block today, February 7, 2025, at 5:00 pm," he said. "It was conveyed that India desires a positive, constructive and mutually beneficial relationship with Bangladesh, which has been reiterated several times in recent high-level meetings. "It is, however, regrettable that regular statements made by Bangladesh .
Bangladesh's interim government of Professor Muhammad Yunus expressed its concern over attempts of vandalism and arson attacks nationwide, hours after it said deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's remarks caused unwanted demolition of the country's founding father's residence in Dhaka. Chief Adviser Yunus's press wing issued the latest statement on Thursday saying, the interim government observes with deep concern that some people and quarters are trying to vandalize and set on fire different institutions and establishments throughout the country. "The government will prevent such activities with a strong hand. The interim government is ready to protect the life and property of the citizens, it said and promised stern punitive actions against the persons and quarters concerned by law enforcement agencies. Chief Adviser's press wing released the statement hours after the interim government said the Wednesday demolition of Bangladesh's founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's 32 ...
Notwithstanding the tense relations between India and Bangladesh ever since the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August last year, a second consignment of rice from India arrived at Mongla Port on Saturday, a media report said. Two ships carrying 16,400 tonnes of rice arrived at the port in the morning, The Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported. Bangladesh is set to receive 300,000 tonnes of rice from India under an agreement, with 40 per cent of it being unloaded at Mongla Port and the rest at Chittagong Port, according to the Mongla Food Controller's Office. The Panama-flagged vessel BMC Alpha arrived from Odisha's Dhamra Port carrying 7,700 tonnes of rice while the Thailand-flagged MV Sea Forest arrived from Kolkata Port with 8,700 tonnes. The first consignment under this open tender import from India arrived on January 20, when the Vietnam-flagged vessel MV Puthan-36 brought 5,700 tonnes of rice, according to the report. A few days ago, Bangladesh's interim governme
The father of the Bangladeshi man accused of stabbing actor Saif Ali Khan will soon approach that country's foreign ministry and the Indian High Commission for the release of his son, who he said was being framed for reasons unknown to him. In a 12-minute interview, Mohammad Ruhul, the father of Shariful Islam, told PTI over the phone from Bangaldesh that his son did not have proper documentation for his stay in India and he lived in constant fear of being arrested. He alleged that the man seen in the CCTV camera footage was not Shariful and added that his son was being framed. "I will get in touch with the Bangaldeshi foreign ministry and also seek help from the Indian High Commission in Dhaka for the release of my son," Ruhul told PTI. He claimed that he learned about his son's arrest through Facebook and news channels and added he had not been contacted by police in this connection. "The police have not said anything to us," Ruhul told PTI. He revealed that Shariful entered In
The twice postponed Director General (DG) level border talks between India and Bangladesh are now expected to be held here from February 16 with the issue of fencing and rise in infiltration attempts post the regime change in that country being a major subject of discussion, official sources said Wednesday. A delegation of the Border Guard Bangladesh is scheduled to hold discussions with their counterparts Border Security Force (BSF) between February 16 and 19 as part of the 55th edition of these bi-annual talks. This will be the first top-level discussion between the two forces post the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, 2024. The engagements of the two sides are being worked upon, official sources told PTI. The dates for these talks were twice postponed last year, they said. The issues related to objections raised by Bangladesh over the construction of "agreed upon" single-row fence at about 92 identified patches covering about 95.8 km of the overall 4,096 km ...
In a mutual exchange between India and Bangladesh amid strained bilateral relations, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) handed over 90 Bangladeshi fishermen for 95 Indian fishermen at the International Maritime Boundary Line, a Defence official said here. The Indian fishermen were handed over by the ICG to the district magistrate of West Bengal's South 24 Parganas near Sagar Island on Monday, he said. The operation was the result of mutual efforts of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), West Bengal government and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) in maintaining maritime relations between India and Bangladesh, the Defence official said in a statement. He said that on December 9, 2024, ICG apprehended two Bangladeshi fishing trawlers FV Laila-2 and FV Meghna-5 with 78 fishermen on board, engaged in fishing within Indian waters. The Centre accorded approval for the repatriation of 78 crew members along with two Bangladeshi fishing boats and an additional 12 crew of sunken Bangladesh fishing b
Bangladesh on Sunday handed over to India 95 Indian fishermen while New Delhi released 90 Bangladeshi fishermen. The process of reciprocal repatriation of fishermen in each other's custody came amid frosty ties between the two countries. The decision to release the fishermen was announced by New Delhi and Dhaka on Thursday. The exchange of the fishermen was coordinated by the Indian Coast Guard and the Bangladesh Coast Guard. The Bangladeshi side handed over 95 fishermen and four fishing vessels to the Indian Coast Guard, according to an official statement. The Indian Coast Guard released 90 Bangladeshi fishermen including 12 rescued from sunken fishing boat "Kaushik", it said. "Idian fishermen are being handed over to West Bengal State fisheries authorities at South 24 Parganas post repatriation from Bangladesh," the Indian Coast Guard said in the readout. In recent months, several Indian fishermen have been arrested by Bangladesh authorities when they happened to inadvertently