Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain is slated to engage in talks with his Indian counterpart, Subrahmaniam Jaishankar, on the sidelines of the two-day 8th Indian Ocean Conference, which is underway in Muscat, Oman.
The conference, organised by the Delhi-based think tank India Foundation, is being hosted jointly by India’s foreign ministry and the Omani government.
A total of 27 countries, including foreign ministers from Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, are attending the conference, according to reports from The Hindu.
China’s special envoy for Middle East affairs, Zhai Jun, will also be in attendance, marking the first invitation to a Chinese official since 2019.
The timing of the meeting between Hossain and Jaishankar is particularly significant, coming in the wake of a high-profile meeting between US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The two leaders reportedly discussed concerns regarding the interim government in Bangladesh, headed by Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus.
On Thursday, President Trump dismissed claims of US deep-state involvement in the Bangladesh situation, a suggestion made by an Indian journalist.
While Trump left the Bangladesh question for Modi to address, the Indian Prime Minister chose not to respond directly.
Subsequently, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri confirmed that Modi had conveyed "his views and, indeed, his concerns" about Bangladesh during the bilateral talks with Trump.
The series of meetings and diplomatic exchanges come amidst rising tensions and growing scrutiny of Bangladesh’s political landscape.
