Touhid to meet Jaishankar in New York

Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain will hold a bilateral meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New York as Dhaka wants to clear the air regarding its ties with New Delhi.
This will be the first bilateral engagement between New Delhi and Dhaka since the fall of the Awami League regime.
Touhid said he would try to advance the relationship by defusing any tension that might have developed.
There is no possibility of a bilateral meeting between Bangladesh’s Interim Government Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the 79th UN General Assembly (UNGA).
Yunus had earlier written to Modi for a bilateral meeting there, but Touhid yesterday told journalists that the chief adviser would reach New York on September 24, and by that time Modi would leave the city. Modi left for a three-day visit to New York yesterday.
“So, there is almost no possibility [of a meeting between Modi and Yunus],” he said at a briefing at the foreign ministry.
Touhid has left for New York last night and a 57-member delegation led by Yunus is scheduled to leave Dhaka for New York on September 23 on a commercial flight.
He explained that most of the delegation members were security personnel and journalists. He cited austerity measures amid the economic downturn for the small delegation.
Usually, the number of Bangladesh delegation members to the UNGA is between 340 and 335.
During the pandemic, the UNGA was held virtually. In the 76th UNGA, the delegation had 408 people. There were 138 people in the 77th UNGA and 146 people in the 78th UNGA when Bangladesh was maintaining austerity measures.
WORKING RELATIONS TO BE KEPT
In response to a question, Touhid said, “Acknowledging the problem [tension between Bangladesh and India] is important for addressing it.
“We will definitely try to sort out the tension and maintain working relations. The relationship will have to be based on mutual respect and fairness. Based on this, we will try to advance the relationship and it is possible.”
There were media reports that Modi was not meeting Yunus as New Delhi did not like the comments made by Bangladeshi political parties and interim government on Dhaka-Delhi relations.
Asked about this, Touhid said there were also comments of Indian leaders which Dhaka might not have liked. Similarly, India might not like some comments from Bangladesh.
“However, these are not major issues. We cannot change our neighbours, and we can only coexist with good relationship,” he said.
He said for the sake of Bangladesh and India, they need to talk on bilateral issues.
UNGA SPEECH
Yunus is scheduled to deliver his speech at the high-level General Debate of the UNGA on September 27 before leaving for Dhaka the same day.
In his speech, he is expected to highlight the mass uprising and reaffirm his commitment to establishing a pro-people, welfare-oriented, and public interest-driven state mechanism, Touhid said.
He said the chief adviser’s speech would also feature Bangladesh’s strong stance on international peacekeeping, climate change, global conflicts, Rohingya crisis, challenges faced by developing nations in achieving SDGs, preventing illicit flow of resources, and safeguarding migrant rights.
The foreign adviser emphasised that human rights and government’s reform initiatives would be the central theme.
Touhid said the UNGA presents a great opportunity to showcase Bangladesh’s inclusive and justice-oriented vision to the global community.
Yunus is expected to hold bilateral meetings with the prime ministers of the Netherlands, Pakistan, and Nepal.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, president of the European Union, UN secretary general, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, president of the World Bank, and USAID administrator will call on Yunus there.
Bangladesh will host a high-level reception on September 24 to mark the 50th anniversary of its membership in the UN.
Bangladesh will also attend a high-level side event on the Rohingya crisis.