Uncertainty looms over Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s first official visit to India, tentatively scheduled between August 20 and 25, as Dhaka and New Delhi are still discussing the exact dates, The Daily Star, reported, citing diplomatic sources.
Rahman’s visit hinges on India’s assurance that ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina will not be allowed to engage in activities from its territory that could create instability in Bangladesh, the country’s leading English-language newspaper said.
Hasina is currently in India.
The proposed visit was being considered, as both sides have been keen to arrange a bilateral engagement, while scheduling issues have so far remained a hurdle.
“Both sides have been interested in a bilateral visit, but the schedule was an issue. After weighing various schedules, the top officials of both countries have come close to a schedule between August 20 and 25,” a diplomatic source in New Delhi told The Daily Star.
Two possible schedules are currently under consideration – August 20-21 and August 21-22, according to Daily Star. The final dates are expected to be decided after Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi resumes his duties in Dhaka, the report said.
However, there is no official confirmation from the Ministry of External Affairs in India.
High Commissioner Trivedi meets PM Modi
The development comes after Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi held a one-to-one meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on August 11, a day after the High Commissioner met Rahman in Dhaka.
If confirmed, the visit would be Tarique Rahman’s first trip to India since he assumed office in February.
Indian and Bangladeshi diplomats and security officials are working towards navigating the turbulence in the relationship, which has re-emerged six months into Rahman’s prime ministership, according to a report in Indian Express.
The proposed visit assumes significance amid recent diplomatic tensions between Dhaka and New Delhi following Sheikh Hasina’s public remarks from India, who has been in India since she was ousted from the country after a student-led uprising in 2024.
The diplomatic dialogue comes against the backdrop of a virtual press interaction by former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi on August 5, organised by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in New Delhi to mark the second anniversary of her ouster following the 2024 student-led uprising, an event that drew strong objections from Dhaka.
India had sidelined itself from Hasina’s engagement, stating that the government has no involvement in the event related to Hasina in the national capital.
‘Hope India expedites Hasina’ extradition process’
Earlier this week, Bangladesh expressed “hope” that India will expedite the extradition process of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted in 2024, during a meeting between Trivedi and Rahman.
Trivedi, who was appointed as India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, paid a courtesy call on Tarique Rahman at the Prime Minister’s Office in the Cabinet Division at the Bangladesh Secretariat.
According to a statement issued by the Bangladesh Prime Minister’s Office, “Bangladesh expressed hope that India will expedite the extradition process of Sheikh Hasina.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited his Bangladesh counterpart to join the outreach of the upcoming BRICS summit in New Delhi in his capacity as the current chair of the BIMSTEC, as India is hosting the event on September 12-13.
Prime Minister Rahman is willing to visit India and hold a bilateral meeting at the earliest. This could be a standalone bilateral meeting or one held on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, the Bangladeshi media reported.
“Whether Tarique Rahman visits India or not is now largely depending on how India responds to the issue of Hasina,” diplomatic source in Dhaka was quoted as saying in Daily Star.
The BIMSTEC, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, is a regional grouping comprising India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan.
Two separate invitations from India
Earlier, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that two separate invitations have been extended to PM Rahman to visit India – one for a bilateral trip and another to participate in the outreach session of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi in September.
The uncertainty about the PM’s visit to attend the BRICS summit is more about the Hasina issue than how the invitation was extended, according to analysts quoted by Daily Star.
“Creating a conducive environment means that Hasina should not be allowed to make political statements in New Delhi and be extradited to Bangladesh for trial,” said Prof M Tawfique Haque, director of the South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance told the Bangladeshi newspaper.
Analysts also said that Trivedi’s one-on-one meeting with Modi in New Delhi was also significant in this context. “It could be to convey the message of Dhaka directly to the Indian prime minister,” said Prof Sreeradha Datta of International Affairs at the OP Jindal Global University.
While Dhaka may seek a guarantee that Hasina is not allowed to make any statement from India, New Delhi may also seek a guarantee that if extradited, Hasina is allowed a fair trial and treated properly, Datta was quoted by Daily Star.
India-Bangladesh Ties
The relations between India and Bangladesh witnessed a major downturn after the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus came to power following the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024.
The two sides initiated efforts to stabilise the relations after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, represented India at the inauguration of Rahman as the prime minister in Dhaka on February 17.
Rahman became the prime minister following his party’s landslide victory in the parliamentary polls.
Creating a conducive environment means that Hasina should not be allowed to make political statements in New Delhi and be extradited to Bangladesh for trial.
In April, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman visited India as part of efforts to repair the strained bilateral ties following more than 18 months of heightened diplomatic tension.
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