DHAKA, Oct 20, 2024 (BSS) - Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma today met with Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin to discuss ways to enhance bilateral relations in various sectors.

The meeting, held at the foreign ministry here, focused on advancing mutual cooperation in line with the shared aspirations of both Bangladesh and India for peace, security, and development.

"The meeting was more about how we can take forward our relations in the coming days," said Verma to media after the meeting this afternoon.

Both sides emphasized the importance of reinvigorating regular bilateral mechanisms to address key issues, he said.

Responding to a question, the envoy said they did not specifically talk about the issue related to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Regarding the next round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between India and Bangladesh, Verma noted that this was a subject of their discussions.

The previous FOC was held in New Delhi on November 23, 2022.

Meanwhile this evening, in a press release, the foreign ministry elaborated the bilateral issues those were featured during the meeting.

The issues included, status of return of the Indian workforce to Bangladesh who had been engaged in a few LOC Projects, status of Indian visa operations, renewal of Revised Travel Arrangement (RTA) and holding of meetings of regular bilateral mechanisms including the Foreign Office Consultations (FOC).
 
They also discussed early consular access for Indian Fishermen who were detained in Bangladesh last week as well as repatriation of Bangladeshi fishermen who had been detained by the Indian authorities in mid-September, said the release.