Tarique Rahman’s India Visit Requires ‘Conducive’ Atmosphere, Says Bangladesh Minister

Bangladesh has not closed the door on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s visit to India, with talks underway to arrange it within a “proper bilateral framework”, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event in Dhaka, Kobir said the visit should take place in a conducive setting as Dhaka and New Delhi work through strains in their bilateral ties.

“Bilateral engagement is required to maintain relations with another country,” Kobir said, adding that the visit would remain a bilateral one with India, reported India Today.

Talks And Timing

Kobir did not give a date for the proposed visit. Asked whether Rahman could travel to India this year, he did not specify a timeline and reiterated that the trip should take place in a conducive atmosphere.

He said pending issues could not be resolved through phone calls alone and that discussions were underway. “Nothing gets resolved just over a phone call. We are having discussions, and things are positive,” Kobir added.

He noted that a higher-level exchange would follow after groundwork at the official level. “A top-level dialogue will happen when a (high-level) visit takes place,” Kobir said, adding that an appropriate atmosphere first needed to be created through official-level talks.

Kobir also referred to India’s envoy in Dhaka. He said Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi is “doing a good job” and expressed hope that New Delhi would be “receptive” to his assessment of the situation in Bangladesh.

Strained India-Bangladesh Ties

The remarks come against the backdrop of strained ties between Dhaka and New Delhi 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 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, however, had invited him as chairman of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation. A separate bilateral invitation had also been in place since February.

Hasina’s continued presence in India has also emerged as a point of dispute. Dhaka has been seeking her extradition, while India has said the request is under examination in line with applicable law and established legal procedures.

The issue sharpened 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. India said it had no role in the media event and did not endorse anything said there about the Bangladesh government.

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