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DHAKA, Bangladesh —\u00a0The foreign secretaries of Bangladesh and India met Monday in Dhaka to discuss their strained relations, including the\u00a0growing tensions<\/a>\u00a0after former Bangladeshi premier Sheikh Hasina\u00a0fled into exile in India<\/a>\u00a0in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the first high-level visit by an Indian official since massive protests ended Hasina\u2019s 15-year rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tensions spiked further over the recent arrest of a Hindu spiritual leader<\/a> in Bangladesh, currently run by the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus<\/a>. India also stopped issuing visas to Bangladeshis except for emergency medical visas after Hasina\u2019s ouster while many Indian nationals taking part in infrastructure projects left Bangladesh because of security threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alleged assaults targeting minority Hindus in Bangladesh and an attack on a Bangladesh diplomatic mission in India featured prominently in Monday’s talks between the Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and his Bangladeshi counterpart, Mohammad Jashim Uddin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the meeting, Misri told reporters that there wasn’t any reason for the mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries not to continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo that end, therefore, I have underlined today India\u2019s desire to work closely with the interim government of Bangladesh,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Misri also said he discussed with Uddin recent developments and relayed “concerns, including those related to the safety, security and welfare of the minorities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a media statement later Monday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said that Misri highlighted New Delhi’s support for \u201ca democratic, stable, peaceful, progressive and inclusive Bangladesh.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also reiterated India\u2019s willingness to build a positive and constructive relationship with Dhaka, based on mutual trust and respect and mutual sensitivity to each other\u2019s concerns and interests, the statement added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Separately, Bangladesh’s Uddin told reporters that Bangladesh asked India not to interfere in its internal affairs, Dhaka-based Daily Star newspaper reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe said people of all religions in Bangladesh freely practice their faiths. This is our internal affair. It is not expected (of other countries) to make comments on our internal affairs. We don\u2019t do it for other countries,\u201d the English-language daily quoted him as saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following the ouster of Hasina, thought to be a trusted friend of India, minorities \u2014 particularly Hindus \u2014 have reported widespread attacks<\/a> in the Muslim-majority nation of Bangladesh, which Yunus say are widely exaggerated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most Bangladeshi Hindus are thought to be supporters of Hasina\u2019s secular Awami League party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n