Bangladesh keeps Tarique Rahman's India visit on table amid strained ties

Bangladesh has not ruled out Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s visit to India, with discussions under way to finalise the tour under a “proper bilateral framework”, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir said on Monday amid strains in ties between the two neighbours.

Kobir said Dhaka saw bilateral engagement as necessary to maintain relations and believed the current challenges could be overcome through dialogue. He, however, did not give a timeframe for the visit and said it should take place in a conducive environment.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event in Dhaka, Kobir said, “Bilateral engagement is required to maintain relations with another country.” He added, “The visit will be bilateral.” Referring to ties with India, he said Bangladesh had never ruled out the prime minister’s visit. “Nothing gets resolved just over a phone call. We are having discussions, and things are positive,” he said.

Asked whether Rahman could visit India this year, Kobir did not specify a timeline. He said Dhaka wanted the visit to take place within a proper bilateral framework and in a conducive atmosphere. “A top-level dialogue will happen when a (high-level) visit takes place”, he said, adding that such an atmosphere first needed to be created through official-level talks.

Kobir also praised Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi, saying he was “doing a good job”, and expressed hope that New Delhi would be “receptive” to his assessment of the situation in Bangladesh.

The remarks come as Dhaka and New Delhi try to manage strained ties following the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India after a youth-led agitation in August 2024. India had invited Rahman to attend last month’s BRICS Summit, but he did not accept the invitation. Bangladesh had said Rahman would not participate because he was not invited to the event itself, and that the invitation had instead been extended to the BIMSTEC chair. India, for its part, had invited him as chairman of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, while a separate bilateral invitation had been in place since February.

Hasina’s presence in India has emerged as a major contentious issue between the two countries. Dhaka has been seeking her extradition, while India has said the request is under examination in line with applicable law and established legal procedures. In August, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said the atmosphere for Rahman’s visit had been “vitiated” by Hasina’s virtual press interaction in New Delhi that month, while India said it had no role in the media event and did not endorse anything said there about the Bangladesh government.

Overall, Kobir said Bangladesh remains open to Rahman’s India visit, but indicated that official-level talks and a conducive atmosphere would be needed before any high-level engagement takes place.

With PTI Inputs

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