The Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh said on Tuesday that differences between New Delhi and Dhaka can be resolved through engagement and dialogue once the prime ministers of the two countries meet, Bangladeshi news agency UNB reported.
High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi made the remarks at an event in Dhaka two days after a Bangladesh foreign ministry official said that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman would not visit India until New Delhi extradited Sheikh Hasina.
The two countries have had strained relations since Hasina, the former prime minister of Bangladesh, fled to India after massive student-led protests in July 2024 against a controversial quota scheme for government jobs. The demonstration later snowballed into a broader agitation against her government.
Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal in November sentenced Hasina to death for crimes against humanity in connection with the deadly crackdown on protesters in 2024. In February, a court sentenced her to 10 years’ imprisonment in two corruption cases relating to alleged irregularities in the allocation of land in a government housing project in Dhaka.
Dhaka has repeatedly demanded that Hasina be extradited. It has also expressed concerns about the ousted leader being allowed by the Indian authorities to address her supporters from Delhi.
New Delhi has previously said that it was for Hasina to decide whether she wants to return to Bangladesh.
On Tuesday, Trivedi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told him during a meeting in Delhi that the two prime ministers needed to meet.
“After meeting the prime minister here, I went straight to Delhi and had a great meeting with our prime minister,” UNB quoted him as saying. “[Modi] just mentioned one thing: we need to meet.”
He quoted Modi as saying: “You can tell them on my behalf that you have the prime minister of India’s assurance that when the prime minister of Bangladesh visits India, he will have such an honourable reception as he deserves.”
Earlier, there had been media reports that Rahman would visit India in August.
But on Sunday, Bangladesh foreign ministry official AKM Shahidul Karim said that “a propitious environment needs to be created for the visit”.
Rahman took office in February and has since visited Malaysia and China, departing from the tradition of Bangladeshi leaders heading to India for their first overseas trip.
On Tuesday, Trivedi also said that “mutual and unconditional trust” was the foundation of any long-lasting relationship, UNB reported.
“Friends really understand each other’s issues, and we are not friends if we don’t understand,” he was quoted as saying.
He also called for the two countries to “move on” and not “get stagnant”
Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.
Also read: Two years after the July Uprising, Bangladesh’s only political consensus may be distrust of India
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