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Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is likely to make his maiden visit to India soon, a move that could give fresh momentum to Dhaka-New Delhi relations as the two neighbours seek to rebuild trust strained during the interim government.
Diplomatic sources in Dhaka and New Delhi said both sides are quietly preparing for a two-day high-profile bilateral visit, with the third week of August or early September under consideration. However, no date has been finalised yet.
“The Indian side has proposed to host the prime minister on 21 and 22 August. You know we have our presidential election and parliamentary session ahead. The prime minister will visit India, but we are yet to determine a date for it,” a senior foreign ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Daily Sun.
Asked why Dhaka prefers a bilateral visit over participation in a multilateral engagement on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, the official said Bangladesh is not a BRICS member and the prime minister is unlikely to take part in the main round-table discussions among leaders of member states.
“Besides, issues with India cannot be discussed in a multilateral engagement,” he said.
According to the official, preparations for the visit began after Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi called on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on 10 August.
“We have been in consultation with the Indian side for the last several days in this regard. We are thinking positively and looking forward to resolving pending issues. The prime minister has emphasised the necessity of a conducive environment to advance relations,” he said.
He added that the issue of extraditing ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina could also have a bearing on creating such an environment.
Asked about the possibility of Tarique Rahman visiting India during the BRICS Summit, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam gave an indirect response.
“The BRICS Summit is still a month away. A lot can happen in a month,” she told reporters at the foreign ministry on Thursday.
Former University of Dhaka international relations professor Imtiaz Ahmed said both countries now appeared willing to move beyond contentious issues.
“Both sides seem interested in opening a new chapter, recognising the strategic importance of maintaining stable relations between neighbours. It is time to break the deadlock,” he said.
Trivedi travelled to India on the same day he met Tarique Rahman and met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the following day, according to diplomatic sources. He has since returned to Dhaka after a three-day visit to New Delhi and is expected to meet Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman over the weekend.
Dates under discussion
New Delhi has proposed several possible dates for Tarique Rahman’s visit, according to sources at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
The proposed dates come ahead of Modi’s planned visits to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan later this month. Modi is also expected to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Heads of State Summit in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital.
Dhaka, however, was considering early September for the prime minister’s India visit in view of its domestic political calendar, according to an Indian Foreign Ministry source.
“The presidential election is due on 20 August, followed by the third session of the current Parliament from 27 August,” the source said.
“Officials from both sides are continuing consultations to settle on dates in between these,” the source added.
Pending issues on agenda
The proposed visit could pave the way for discussions on several long-pending bilateral issues, including the renewal of the Ganga water-sharing treaty, energy cooperation, cross-border connectivity, security management and the removal of trade restrictions imposed by India on Bangladesh in May 2025, according to the sources.
Asked whether Tarique Rahman would visit Delhi this month, an Indian diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “We don’t have any confirmation. We will be happy to receive him though.”
Narendra Modi invited Tarique Rahman to visit India when a delegation led by the Lok Sabha Speaker attended the swearing-in ceremony of the Bangladesh prime minister on 17 February. India later invited him to attend next month’s BRICS Summit in his capacity as the current chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
Meanwhile, Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Friday also confirmed that India had invited Tarique Rahman for a bilateral visit.
Responding to a question at the ministry’s regular weekly briefing in New Delhi, he said, “We have invited the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for a bilateral visit. In addition, an invitation has also been extended to him to participate in the outreach session of the BRICS Summit.”
Former ambassador Mahfuzur Rahman said Tarique Rahman’s visit would not resolve all outstanding disputes but could create a political channel for addressing them through direct talks with Modi.
“Tarique Rahman should pay a bilateral visit to India. It is hard to say no every time when they are approaching repeatedly. He will go to the United Nations next month, where there will be enough room to sit in dialogue. If he has to sit with the Indian prime minister there, it is better to make his visit to India early,” he told the Daily Sun.
He said the visit should primarily focus on building goodwill and trust between the two leaders.
“It will be a courtesy visit. Therefore, emphasis should be given to building relations between the two leaders so that no instigation from any part can hurt the relations. If they can build trust among themselves, many problems will be resolved automatically,” he added.