B’desh, India to explore fresh dates in Aug for Rahman’s visit

Plans for a visit to India by Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman early next week have fallen through, though the two sides continue to be in touch to explore the possibility of a trip within the month of August, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Preparations had begun for a possible visit by Rahman during August 23-24, including a ceremonial welcome and banquet at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and official meetings on the second day, but the people familiar with planning for the trip said it was not going ahead. The people, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not give any reasons for the change in plans.

Back channel contacts between the two sides, involving Humayun Kabir, the foreign affairs adviser to the Bangladesh PM, are continuing to explore the possibility of arranging Rahman’s visit later this month, one of the people said.

The Indian side has extended an invitation for Rahman’s bilateral visit and taken all steps to welcome him and to prepare an agenda to take bilateral relations forward, and it is up to the Bangladesh side to take a call on the matter, a second person said.

When external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was asked at a regular media briefing about the confusion surrounding Rahman’s possible visit, he replied: “I have nothing to say on this matter. If there is an update, I will share it with you.”

“No decision has yet been made on the visit,” Rahman’s Press Secretary A A M Saleh told Reuters.

On Friday afternoon, the Rashtrapati Bhavan put out a press release that said the formal “Change of Guard Ceremony” at the forecourt of the presidential palace would not be held on August 22 “due to the full rehearsal for the ceremonial welcome of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh”. A subsequent statement from the Rashtrapati Bhavan said the press release had been withdrawn.

The people acknowledged that this was part of the preparations that were being put in place for a possible visit by Rahman. Invitations had also been issued for the official banquet to be held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 23 before being rescinded, they said.

Kabir, who is expected to be elevated to the status of minister of state for foreign affairs as part of a reshuffle, told state-run BSS news agency on Thursday that the chances of Rahman visiting India ahead of the Brics Summit during September 12-13 “remains slim unless an appropriate environment is created based on consensus between the two countries on specific issues and a dignified invitation”.

Rahman’s visit is being seen as key to efforts by the two sides to normalise bilateral relations after a period of unprecedented strains going back to the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government in a student-led uprising in August 2024 and its replacement by an interim administration headed by Muhammad Yunus. Hasina’s presence in India, where she fled after the fall of her government, and her use of Indian soil to attack the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), have emerged as the main irritant in bilateral ties.

Last Sunday, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry set Hasina’s extradition as a condition for Rahman’s visit in a strongly worded statement that raised eyebrows in diplomatic circles.

If Rahman’s visit goes ahead, a number of crucial issues are expected to be on the agenda, including Hasina’s presence in India, development cooperation, easing of trade-related restrictions, Dhaka’s request for additional fuel supplies to address a crippling energy shortage, and the renewal of the Ganga Waters Treaty.