Shringla's Bangladesh visit part of engagement with neighbours: India HC

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla's visit to Bangladesh was part of ongoing bilateral engagement between two close and friendly neighbours, High Commission of India in Bangladesh said

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla's recent visit to Bangladesh was part of ongoing bilateral engagement between two close and friendly neighbours, High Commission of India in Bangladesh said on Monday.

The High Commission said some media outlets have published ill-intentioned, factually incorrect and speculative reports with little understanding of India-Bangladesh relations and such attempts were highly mischievous and misleading.

"On Foreign Secretary's recent visit to Dhaka, some media outlets have published ill intentioned, factually incorrect and speculative reports with little understanding of India-Bangladesh relations. Such mala fide attempts are highly mischievous and misleading," the High Commission said.

"This visit of Foreign Secretary to Bangladesh on Aug 18-19 was part of ongoing bilateral engagement between two close and friendly neighbours," it added.

During his visit to Bangladesh, Shringla held talks with his counterpart Masud Bin Momen. He also called on Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

External Affairs Ministery Anurag Srivastava said during a press briefing last week that there were discussions relating to the cooperation in the areas of security, including fencing and joint efforts to prevent trans-border crimes.

The issue of safe repatriation of internally displaced persons from the Rakhine state also came up for discussion.

Cooperation in the area of security, including fencing and joint efforts to prevent trans-border crimes as well as a proposal to set up a high-level mechanism to regularly review the progress of developmental projects were also discussed during the visit.