Foreign Secy highlights ‘people-centric’ India-Bangladesh ties

New Delhi, Oct 7: India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri reaffirmed New Delhi’s commitment to strengthening its “warm and historic” ties with Bangladesh, emphasising that India has consistently approached the relationship in a “positive and constructive manner” with a strong people-centric focus.

In a post on X, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, “Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri interacted with a group of journalists from Bangladesh today. He highlighted the warm and historic India–Bangladesh ties, emphasising that India has always approached the relationship in a positive and constructive manner with a people-centric orientation.”

According to ANI, Misri acknowledged that India’s visa operations in Bangladesh are yet to return to pre-2024 levels but remain among the largest anywhere in the world. “Yes, it is not at the level at which it was before the events of July and August last year,” he said, referring to the period of political unrest in Bangladesh. “But even today, with the numbers that are there, it remains one of our largest visa operations anywhere in the world.”

Visa services were disrupted following widespread student-led protests in Bangladesh in mid-2024 that forced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee to India amid escalating violence. Misri noted that India had to “readjust its footprint” in response to the deteriorating security situation, which included incidents targeting Indian visa offices.