Jaishankar meets Foreign Ministers of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and other south Asian counterparts

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar with the Foreign Minister of Interim government of Bangladesh Touhid Hossain in Muscat on February 16, 2025. Photo: X/@DrSJaishankar

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met with Bangladesh Foreign Minister Touhid Hossain in Muscat on Sunday (February 16, 2025), in a meeting aimed at defusing tensions and addressing “challenges” between Delhi and Dhaka over attacks on minorities and the continued stay of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in India. Mr. Jaishankar, who was attending the 8th Indian Ocean Conference, warned of a “churning” in the region. He also met with counterparts from a number of countries, including Nepal Foreign Minister Arzu Deuba Rana, Bhutan Foreign Minister D.N. Dhungyel, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Khaleel, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the Foreign Ministers of Mauritius and Brunei, as well as his Omani co-host Syed Badr Hamad Al Busaidi. 

In a statement, the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said the two leaders had noted a number of regular bilateral exchanges had been held between the two countries in the past few months and a meeting of border guards is expected this week.

“The [Foreign Ministers] hoped that various border-related issues would be discussed and resolved during the meeting. Both sides recognised the challenges the two neighbours are facing in terms of bilateral relations and discussed about the necessity to work together to address those,” the statement said.

Mr. Jaishankar, who last met Mr. Hossain in September 2024 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, said the “conversation was focused on [the India-Bangladesh] bilateral relationship, as also on BIMSTEC [Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation].”

The reference to the BIMSTEC is significant as the next summit of the regional grouping will be held in Bangkok on April 2-4, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus are expected to attend. Both leaders have spoken over the telephone once but have not met since the upheaval in Bangladesh and the ouster of Ms. Hasina in August 2024.

‘Coordinated flotilla’

Addressing the IOC’s inaugural session, which included ministers of more than 25 countries, and is co-hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs this year with the Oman Ministry of Foreign Affairs and organised by India Foundation, Mr. Jaishankar said the Indian Ocean was witnessing a “sharp churning” due to developments in West Asia and  the Indo-Pacific, calling for a “coordinated flotilla” to develop the region. 

“In the Middle East/West Asia, there is a serious conflict underway with the potential for further escalation and complication,” Mr. Jaishankar said. “At the same time, longstanding issues are being revisited, sometimes with a radically different approach,” he added, in an oblique reference to U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest statements on Gaza, where he has proposed moving nearly two million Gazans to Egypt and Jordan, and the U.S. taking charge of redeveloping the area that has been bombarded by Israel. The proposal has been rejected by most countries in the Gulf region, including Oman, where the MFA said that any plans “aimed at transferring Palestinians from their lands constitute a flagrant violation of international law and legitimate international resolutions”, calling the Trump proposal a “threat to security and stability” in the region.

Speaking in another session, Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took aim at the U.S. over Mr. Trump’s recent executive orders to impose “maximum pressure” on Iran and reviewing all sanctions waivers including the waiver for Chabahar port.

“Certain extra-regional powers seek to exploit political, economic, and security gaps in the region, undermining natural cooperation among regional countries. We cannot allow the geopolitical rivalries of global powers to determine the future of this region” Mr. Araghchi, who also held a bilateral meeting with Mr. Jaishankar, said.

‘First responder’

In his speech, Mr. Jaishankar said India had a number of initiatives to help promote cooperation in the Indian Ocean region, citing India’s $4billion package for Sri Lanka, and vaccine donations, while being a “First responder” during natural disasters, earthquakes, oil spills and other crises in the IOR.

After a meeting with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mr. Herath, Mr. Jaishankar said they had taken stock of the relationship, and that India is “committed to the economic recovery and progress of Sri Lanka”. This is the first time the two sides have met since the recent withdrawal of the Adani Group from a renewable power project in Sri Lanka, after the new government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake ordered a review of the terms of the contract. India has also eyed with concern the decision of the Sri Lankan government to lift its moratorium on the docking of research ships into its ports, and had earlier protested the entry of Chinese vessels there that had a possible “dual use”.

Speaking at the IOC, Mr. Herath said that “regional security is intrinsically linked to the stability of the Indian Ocean”. 

“It is essential that we strengthen regional security architectures, enhance maritime domain awareness, and promote joint exercises and capacity-building initiatives,” he added.