External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has rightfully asked the present dispensation in Dhaka to take appropriate action so that terrorism does not get normalized in Bangladesh. As reported in the media, Jaishankar held a meeting with Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Advisor Touhid Hossain on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Conference in Muscat earlier in the week, during which it was clearly conveyed that Bangladesh should not do anything which would vitiate the overall situation in the subcontinent. The conference was an occasion when a lot of bilateral issues came up for discussion among the countries belonging to the neighbourhood. Peace and containment of terrorism were on the top of the agenda in these sideline meetings, with India emphasizing that one small problem in one country can blow up to adversely affect another. As has been reported, Jaishankar’s conversation with the Foreign Affairs Advisor of the Interim Government in Dhaka was focused on bilateral relationship, as also on BIMSTEC. One positive development of this bilateral meeting is that the Bangladeshi advisor highlighted the importance of holding the meeting of SAARC Standing Committee, impressing upon New Delhi to consider the matter and take the initiative. It is important to note that SAARC has remained practically in a limbo for quite some time, leading to a situation where several regional and sub-regional matters have been gathering dust. It is important to note that everyone in South Asia is aware of which country and what activities are responsible for stymying SAARC. This incidentally is the second high-level engagement between New Delhi and Dhaka since the Sheikh Hasina was ousted. It was in September last year that Jaishankar and Hossain had met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Though the present dispensation in Dhaka has taken an overly anti-India stand, the fact remains that both Jaishankar and Hossain have been maintaining quite a cordial relationship, in the process emphasizing the importance of working to overcome the challenges that have arisen in the current context of bilateral relations. Also important to note, Bangladesh has already got the much-needed pinch, with the new US President already announcing certain measures which will adversely affect Bangladesh in a big way. In this context, the whole world is now looking towards the first-ever meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Chief Adviser Prof Md Yunus when they are likely to meet on the sidelines of the upcoming 6th Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit which is scheduled to be held in Bangkok in the first week of April this year. Going by convention, Bangladesh will take over as the next chair of BIMSTEC at the Bangkok summit. What, however, disturbing is that while New Delhi continues to work for the normalization of relations between the two neighbours, the current regime in Dhaka has continued to indulge in making groundless accusations against India on one hand, and doing precious little to stop targeting minorities, especially the Hindu community in Bangladesh in the post-Hasina era.