Bangladesh foreign minister visits India for talks on bilateral issues

NEW DELHI: Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman met Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Wednesday in what was described as the most senior visit by a Bangladeshi envoy to India since the 2024 uprising that removed former prime minister Sheikh Hasina from power.

Bangladesh’s state news agency BSS said Rahman was in India on a ‘goodwill visit’. The two sides were expected to discuss ‘extradition, trade, water sharing and border security’ during the trip.

Jaishankar said after the meeting that he had been ‘pleased to host’ Khalilur Rahman. In a statement, the Indian minister said the two had discussed ‘strengthening our bilateral relationship’, though he did not provide further details.

The visit comes as ties between Dhaka and New Delhi have shown improvement since Bangladesh’s February election, in which Tarique Rahman, leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, secured a landslide victory. He succeeded the interim administration that had been running the country of 170 million people after Hasina was ousted.

Key issues in focus

According to BSS, Bangladesh planned to raise several longstanding and sensitive matters during the visit, including the extradition of Hasina, trade relations, sharing of river waters and security along the border.

Relations between the two neighbours had come under strain after Hasina fled to India, where she has remained in hiding. Bangladesh has repeatedly sought her extradition.

In November, Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia for orchestrating a deadly crackdown on the uprising.

Bangladesh was also expected to seek increased energy supplies from India as it deals with the effects of the war in the Middle East.

Recent diplomatic contacts

The meeting in New Delhi follows Jaishankar’s visit to Dhaka in December. He travelled there to attend the funeral of former leader Khaleda Zia, who was the mother of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, elected in February.

The latest engagement signals continued high-level contact between the two countries as they work through political and strategic issues that have affected bilateral relations since the change of government in Bangladesh.

‘pleased to host’

‘strengthening our bilateral relationship’

‘extradition, trade, water sharing and border security’