On his two-day trip to Dhaka, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra met Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and other top leaders and reviewed New Delhi's bilateral ties in areas such as security, water, trade and investment, power and energy, defence, connectivity and sub-regional cooperation. In the first official visit of a high-level official to Bangladesh after the formation of the new government in January 2024, Kwatra also met Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud and his counterpart Masud Bin Momen. The Ministry of External Affairs said, in a statement, that Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra went for an official visit to Bangladesh on May 8 and 9. This was the first official visit to Bangladesh after the formation of the new government in January 2024. “Bangladesh is India's leading development partner and its largest trade partner in the region. The Foreign Secretary's visit is expected to further strengthen bilateral ties and impart momentum to co-operation in diverse areas. He reviewed the wide-ranging bilateral relationship including political and security, water, trade and investment, power and energy, defence, connectivity and sub-regional cooperation,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. A statement from Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry said the two foreign secretaries' discussions “focused on bilateral issues, regional cooperation and avenues for future collaboration.” “Kwatra and Momen expressed optimism about prospects for furthering bilateral cooperation to address shared challenges and capitalise on emerging opportunities,” it said. According to the Bangladesh foreign office, the two top officials also discussed, among other issues, cooperation in the areas of green energy, digital economy and space technology. “Foreign Secretary Masud particularly emphasised on power sector cooperation, connectivity, enhancing Bangladesh's export to India, cooperation in regional and international platforms and support for Rohingya repatriation,” the statement said. The two sides also discussed water-sharing issues of common rivers, including that of the Teesta River, and renewal of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, signed in 1996.
