India, Bangladesh in talks to schedule Tarique Rahman's Delhi visit
Delhi and Dhaka have resumed official-level talks to firm up plans for Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman's bilateral visit to India, with November being explored as a possible window.
India and Bangladesh have resumed official-level discussions to prepare for a bilateral visit by Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, with officials exploring a possible window in the latter half of November.
According to people familiar with the matter, the two sides have continued to hold meetings in Dhaka as they work towards setting an agenda for the visit. The talks are focused on regularising bilateral trade, which has been affected by unstable political relations, as well as questions over the renewal of the Ganga Water Treaty, among other issues.
Sources in Dhaka indicated that Rahman is scheduled to travel to New York for the United Nations General Assembly this month. He will have multiple diplomatic engagements through October and November, and efforts are underway to schedule his New Delhi visit during a suitable window in November.
The planning follows a period of uncertainty in ties. New Delhi had earlier invited Rahman for a bilateral visit in August, but that did not materialise.
The Bangladesh Prime Minister did not attend the BRICS Summit hosted by India, even though New Delhi, as the host nation, extended an invitation to Dhaka. Bangladesh had ruled out the possibility of his participation, stating that Rahman had been invited not as a prime minister but as the chairman of the seven-nation BIMSTEC grouping.
Bangladesh's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Humayun Kobir, has said Dhaka is planning to "reset" ties with India and will prioritise a bilateral visit at a "conducive" moment.
Relations have also been strained by remarks made by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during an interaction with the media via an audio link on August 5, which marked two years since the fall of her government. Hasina was ousted as Prime Minister on August 5, 2024, and has been living in India.
More recently, the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party's parliament chief whip, Nurul Islam Moni, said Bangladesh is reviewing 101 agreements signed with India. Asked whether agreements allowing ships of friendly countries to use Chattogram and Mongla ports would be cancelled, Moni said all 101 memorandums of understanding were under review.
India had sent Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on February 17 to join the inauguration of Rahman's Bangladesh Nationalist Party government following the February 12 general elections.