Union External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar held back-to-back meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) ministerial meeting in Manila, Philippines, on Thursday, 23 July 2026. The bilateral engagements, confirmed by the minister on X, underline India's practice of weaving neighbourhood diplomacy into multilateral settings.

Context

Dr. Jaishankar posted on X that he was 'glad to meet FM Vijitha Herath of Sri Lanka and FM Khalilur Rahman of Bangladesh during the ARF meeting.' The meetings took place on the sidelines of the annual ARF ministerial gathering, hosted this year by the Philippines in its capital Manila. The ARF is the premier Asia-Pacific security dialogue platform, bringing together 27 member states including ASEAN nations and key dialogue partners.

India has been a participant in ARF ministerial meetings since the forum's early years, consistently using the multilateral setting to conduct focused bilateral conversations with neighbours and regional partners without requiring separate diplomatic travel.

Policy Backdrop

The meetings are rooted in India's Neighbourhood First policy, which has guided New Delhi's engagement with immediate neighbours — including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh — since 2014. Both countries share extensive maritime, economic, and people-to-people ties with India, and senior-level contact has been a consistent feature of the bilateral relationships.

Using ARF sidelines for such engagements reflects a deliberate Indian diplomatic approach: integrating neighbourhood outreach with broader Indo-Pacific multilateral processes. This avoids the need for new institutional frameworks while keeping communication channels active at the ministerial level.

Stakeholders and Impact

Sri Lanka and India share a maritime boundary in the Palk Strait and are deeply linked through trade, energy cooperation, and connectivity projects. Ministerial contact at this level signals continued high-level attention to the bilateral relationship from New Delhi's side.

Bangladesh and India share one of the subcontinent's most active bilateral relationships, spanning trade corridors, water-sharing arrangements, and transit connectivity. A meeting between Dr. Jaishankar and FM Khalilur Rahman on an international platform reinforces the importance New Delhi places on keeping that engagement robust. For ASEAN dialogue partners and observers, India's active use of the ARF sidelines signals its continued commitment to the Indo-Pacific multilateral architecture.

What's Next

Diplomatic watchers will look for any follow-up joint statements, announced bilateral visits, or working-level meetings that may stem from the Manila conversations. The next ARF ministerial round and its host country will also be closely watched as a barometer of the forum's evolving agenda on regional security. India's simultaneous engagement with two South Asian neighbours at a single multilateral venue suggests a coordinated diplomatic push that could yield concrete deliverables in the weeks ahead.