What is the story about?
Bangladesh’s Prime Minister, Tariqe Rahman is set to undertake a bilateral visit to New Delhi soon, as confirmed to Times Now by sources within the Bangladesh government
even as Dhaka signals it is “almost certain” that PM Rahman will skip the upcoming BRICS summit in the capital. The planned trip comes amid renewed diplomatic engagement to prevent a further slide in ties. Against this backdrop, the first courtesy call by India’s newly appointed High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, on Prime Minister Tariqe Rahman in Dhaka is being viewed as significant and “well received”. The meeting was also attended by Foreign Advisor to Bangladesh Prime Minister, Humaiun Kobir and Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman. It should be noted that ahead of the August 5 virtual event, Humayun Kobir had met with HC Trivedi in Dhaka, warning that Hasina’s political activities from India could “harm” positive movements in bilateral ties.
Bangladesh HM: You cannot play the Hasina card and seek friendly ties
The friction centers on India’s hosting of former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, who addressed a virtual event at New Delhi Foreign Correspondents Club on August 5 and announced she intends to return to Bangladesh, possibly in December during “Victory Month.”
Subsequently, the country’s Home Minister, Salahuddin Ahmed had warned India over the political activities of the ousted prime minister, who is currently staying in Delhi.
Speaking at Dhaka University on Saturday as chief guest at an event marking the anniversary of the July mass uprising, Ahmed said that India would have to rethink its pursuit of friendly relations with Bangladesh if it allows Hasina, who fled the country in the face of the July mass uprising, to engage in political activities from Indian soil. Ahmed said, “You cannot play the Hasina card and seek friendly relations with Bangladesh; the two are contradictory. I hope the Indian authorities and the Indian government will understand this.”
Following the address, Dhaka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "Dhaka deeply regrets that in spite of concerns conveyed a priori to the Government of India about the likely ramifications of this event on the reset of our bilateral relations, this public event was permitted to be held.”
Responding to Bangladesh government’s comments, India’s External Affairs Ministry on Friday, August 7, 2026, had said that New Delhi does not endorse the comments made against Prime Minister Rahman’s government at Hasina’s press conference.
Has High Commissioner Trivedi’s meeting averted a new low to Delhi-Dhaka ties?
According to senior officials in Dhaka, the meeting between PM Tariqe Rahman and High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi has indeed helped stabilise the relationship.
Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Rahman has even said on record that he felt “somewhat reassured”by the conversation.
To quote PM Rahman’s Deputy Press Secretary, Shahadat Shadhin, “Bangladesh hopes that India will expedite the process of extraditing Sheikh Hasina."
Both Foreign Minister Rahman and Foreign Affairs Adviser Kobir were present during the meeting. The PM also “reiterated the request to extradite the suspected killers who are connected to the assassination of Shaheed Osman Hadi.”
The two suspects were arrested in March this year by the Special Task Force of West Bengal Police.
According to Indian Government sources, the need to crack down on illegal immigration emanating from Bangladesh and to ensure safe and secure borders was also communicated to the Bangladeshi side.
Pending Agenda: Ganga Treaty and stalled projects
Officials said the bilateral visit will also need to address a backlog of cooperation hit by the 15-month-long interim government in Dhaka, which was dominated by student protesters who had found space in the ruling dispensation under Mohammad Yunus.
Among the most urgent items is the renewal of the Ganga Waters Treaty of 1996, which is set to expire on December 31, 2026, after three decades. Both sides acknowledge that extensive expert-level discussions will be required well ahead of the deadline to finalize a new arrangement.
Several other India-Bangladesh projects have also remained unaddressed during the period of political disruption in Dhaka and are expected to figure in the talks.
MEA: “Examining the matter”
MEA spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal too confirmed the engagement and India’s outreach. “Both sides discussed matters of mutual interest. As far as the invitation that you talked about, we have extended invitation for a bilateral visit as also for the BRICS outreach session which will be held here in Delhi. We will keep you updated on this particular matter,” he said.
On the two extradition demands, Jaiswal said India’s position on Sheikh Hasina’s extradition has been stated “several times” and that “we are examining the matter in accordance with our established procedures, and whenever I have any update to share, I will inform you.”
On the Hadi case, MEA noted: “It is a legal matter, a judicial matter, and an investigation into the case is currently underway.”
BRICS outreach likely to be skipped
Despite the invite for both a bilateral visit and the BRICS outreach session in Delhi, government sources in Bangladesh told Times Now that Prime Minister Rahman is “almost certain not to attend” the BRICS summit, citing recent developments and the Hasina issue.
Officials indicated that a standalone bilateral visit to New Delhi is now being worked on instead, aimed at resetting ties without the multilateral optics of BRICS.
The next few weeks will test whether HC Trivedi’s intervention in Dhaka can translate into a substantive reset one that balances India’s legal and procedural constraints with Bangladesh’s demand for action on extradition, while also moving forward on long-pending issues like border security and the Ganga Waters Treaty.
