US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Tuesday said that regional issues, including Bangladesh, often come up in conversations between the US and Indian governments. He refused to give out any specific details about the recent meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, that took place last week in Washington, DC.
In this regard, Miller had said, “Well, I can tell you that regional issues, including Bangladesh, are often the subject of our meetings with the Government of India, but I don’t have any specific readout to offer. A questioner wanted to know if Bangladesh was discussed between Blinken and Jaishankar.“
These comments come on the back of rising tensions in Bangladesh after weeks of political unrest and student protests saw the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The protests mushroomed into a powerful anti-government movement and spilled onto the streets of Dhaka, which led to the constitution of the interim government. There have been reports of rampant violence and chaos during this situation targeting minorities, including Hindus.
Long-serving Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had to relinquish her office in the wake of serious turmoil in the country. In fact, it was on August 5 that an interim government, headed by one of the Nobel Peace Prize winners Muhammad Yunus, took office. The happenings in Bangladesh attracted the attention of its neighbors. As well as international observers against the backdrop of violence and instability particularly those affecting the religious minorities.
Meanwhile, the US-India dialogue on various issues touching on regional stability, global challenges, and emerging technologies has continued. The meeting between Blinken and Jaishankar on October 1 is in light of these ongoing discussions. “Indeed, we followed this up from our previous discussion in Delaware’s bilateral meeting and in the Quad Summit,” Jaishankar asserted.
In a tweet, Jaishankar said, “Delighted to hold talks with @ABlinken today in Washington DC. We followed up on the Delaware bilateral and Quad meetings. Our discussions covered deepening bilateral cooperation, the situation in West Asia, recent developments in the Indian subcontinent, the Indo-Pacific, and Ukraine.“
In their engagement, Blinken and Jaishankar also focused on taking the US-India relationship forward, primarily on regional and global issues. According to Miller, discussions also underscored partnerships on critical technologies to respond to the global climate crisis, including clean energy.
Besides that, Blinken referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kyiv last August. And reiterated that “a just and lasting peace for Ukraine” is terribly important. Both heads of state expressed interest in further bilateral cooperation in the realm of clean energy and technology.
Besides these, the meeting touched upon regional issues of security and geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific region. Both countries remain closely engaged on issues like regional stability and threats to global security. The US and India have been working towards expanding their cooperation on climate initiatives. With a priority on the development of clean energy as a solution to the global climate crisis.
Although the US State Department declined to give any details regarding discussions on Bangladesh. The ongoing situation in that country remains a priority area of concern for the two countries. The US continues to follow the happenings in Bangladesh closely. As the stability of the region has wider implications for South Asia and global security.
ANI
