National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman will attend a regional forum in New Delhi at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.

Khalilur will lead the Bangladeshi delegation to the two-day Colombo Security Conclave starting November 19.

Bangladesh joined the CSC as its fifth member last year. India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, and the Maldives formed the platform in 2020 to strengthen maritime cooperation among regional countries.

The Chief Adviser's Press Wing said Khalilur's participation in the conclave is a "continuation of the interim government's efforts to foster mutually beneficial regional cooperation".

"The interim government prioritises regional cooperation and has actively participated in meetings of various regional bodies," it said in a statement yesterday.

Khalilur had earlier led the Bangladesh delegation to the China-Indian Ocean Region Forum in Kunming, China.

According to sources, the adviser met Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma at his Baridhara residence last night.

Diplomatic sources said no meeting between the two NSAs has yet been finalised, though one is likely.

The visit comes at a time when relations between Bangladesh and India remain strained since the fall of the Awami League government on August 5 last year, when Sheikh Hasina fled to India.

This will be the second visit by a government adviser to India since the interim administration took charge. In February, Energy Adviser Muhammad Fauzul Kabir Khan went there to attend India Energy Week.

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit in April.

Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain and Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have also met twice -- on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September last year and at the 8th Indian Ocean Conference in Oman in February.