Foreign affairs adviser Md Touhid Hossain will meet with his Indian colleague S Jaishankar in New York on the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly, although Chief Advisor Dr Muhammad Yunus and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not meet.

"Both of them will visit New York, but not at the same time. Modi will go earlier, while our Chief Adviser will arrive later. As a result, it appears unlikely that they will meet," the foreign adviser said at a briefing on Saturday, ahead of the chief adviser's departure for the UNGA on Monday.

The foreign affairs adviser will leave on Sunday.

"Our meeting with Jaishankar is almost certain,” he said, replying to a question.

He, however, did not specify the time.

There was speculation about the meeting between the chief adviser and the Indian prime minister. Indian media reported that New Delhi turned down the request from Dhaka for the meeting.

When asked about media reports suggesting that some recent comments from Bangladesh were not well received by India and that’s why the meeting between the Chief Adviser and the Prime Minister of India wasn’t happening, the adviser responded, “We might not like many things either."

"So, if he didn’t like what I said or I didn’t like what he said, there’s no reason to be overly concerned. That doesn’t mean Bangladesh will suddenly move far away, or India will go somewhere else, and cease being our neighbor. Since neighbors don’t change – whether we like what they say or not… unacceptable things have been said from India’s side as well from time to time," he said.

"Therefore, I don’t think this issue should be given too much importance. I don’t believe that the meeting won’t happen because of this or that it’s not happening for such reasons," he added.

"There are plenty of bilateral issues, and we must maintain discussions on them. Neither India nor we have any other option in this regard," he said.

“We have to acknowledge that there is a certain level of tension in our relations with India. To resolve any issues, we can't simply deny their existence. We will definitely try to move past the tension and establish a working relationship," the foreign adviser said.

"However, the relationship must be based on sovereignty, dignity, and mutual respect. Based on these principles, the relationship can progress, and we will make efforts in that direction," he said.

The adviser mentioned that confirmed meetings for the Chief Adviser include those with the Prime Ministers of the Netherlands, Pakistan, and Nepal, the President of the European Commission, the US Secretary of State, the UN Secretary-General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the President of the World Bank Group, and the Administrator of USAID.

He also hinted that a few more meetings are in the pipeline and hoped to confirm those at the last minute.