National security adviser set to visit India

Bangla Press Desk:   National Security Adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government, Khalilur Rahman, is set to visit New Delhi on 19 November to attend a high-level conference of National Security Advisers from the Indo-Pacific region.

He will participate in the seventh Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) meeting, which is scheduled to take place in the Indian capital on 20 November.

The two-day trip comes at the invitation of India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, who extended the invitation in late October.

The Colombo Security Conclave is a key multilateral platform that brings together countries of the Indian Ocean region to discuss and coordinate on regional security. Its current members include India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Mauritius, and Bangladesh, while Seychelles attends as an observer.

Bangladesh joined the bloc as a full member in 2024. In August of the same year, the member states met in Colombo to adopt a charter and sign a MoU establishing a permanent CSC Secretariat in the Sri Lankan capital.

The forum focuses on strengthening cooperation in five core areas: maritime safety and security, counterterrorism and preventing violent extremism, combating human trafficking and transnational organised crime, cybersecurity and the protection of critical infrastructure and technology, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The conclave, established to enhance maritime security, counterterrorism cooperation, and the capacity to address international threats, facilitates the exchange of intelligence, joint policy coordination, and capability development among member countries.

Although the secretariat is located in Colombo, meetings—including those at the level of National Security Advisers—are held on a rotational basis among member countries.

BP/SP