DHAKA: The Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Khalilur Rahman arrived in India on Tuesday, marking the first high-level visit of a member of the country’s new government.
The minister is traveling to attend the Indian Ocean Conference in Mauritius this week and during the stopover in New Delhi will meet his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar, India’s minister for petroleum and gas, and the national security adviser, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
“This visit will lay an important foundation for elevating areas of cooperation between Bangladesh and India to a more fruitful and sustainable level in the future.”
Relations with India, a neighbor that was Bangladesh’s main partner during the 15-year rule of ex-premier Sheikh Hasina, have been strained since her removal from office.
The former leader fled to New Delhi following a student-led uprising that toppled her administration in mid-2024.
The caretaker government that took control after Hasina’s ousting distanced itself from India and was met with hostility from the Indian government, which suspended key transshipment access for Bangladeshi exports and put on hold visas for Bangladeshi nationals.
The period of diplomatic strain had been expected to ease after February’s general vote and relations to be normalized under the new, elected Cabinet led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, who was sworn in on Feb. 17.
The visit of Khalilur Rahman, however, is taking place in a complex context, according to Prof. Amena Mohsin, political scientist at North South University in Dhaka.
Bangladesh is redefining its foreign policy under the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which was the main opposition during Hasina’s rule. At the same time, Hasina is residing in India and has not been deported to face trial in Bangladesh, despite official requests.
“In addition to that, a new generation emerged in Bangladesh who don’t nurture a very friendly attitude regarding India,” Prof. Mohsin told Arab News.
“But I consider this visit as a very positive one and the ‘beginning of a new chapter’ ... I believe India will also learn lessons from its previous mistakes while maintaining relationships with Bangladesh. At the same time, we will also look into the issues lacking from our side, because we can’t change our neighbors. India is very critical for us and vice versa.”
