Asked on the timing of Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman's possible visit to India, foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman said on Monday;
“First of all, I am not an astrologer."
India on Tuesday confirmed that it has invited Tarique Rahman for a bilateral visit and to attend the Brics outreach session in New Delhi.
Addressing a regaular media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi met Rahman on Aug 10 and discussed matters of mutual interest.
"Our High Commissioner had a meeting with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh yesterday. At the meeting, both sides discussed matters of mutual interest.
As far as the invitation you mentioned is concerned, we have extended an invitation for a bilateral visit, as well as to attend the BRICS outreach session that will be held here in Delhi.
"We will keep you updated on this particular matter," Jaiswal said.
However, Bangladesh has yet to decide whether Rahman will attend the Brics outreach session, Foreign Minister Khalilur said.
He made the remarks after Indian envoy met Rahman at the Secretariat.
He said Dhaka had received two separate invitations from India — one for a bilateral visit by the Bangladeshi prime minister and
... another for the chairperson of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) to attend the Brics summit.
The foreign minister stressed that the two invitations should not be treated as the same.
He said the BRICS invitation was extended to Bangladesh in its capacity as the current BIMSTEC chair, rather than personally to Rahman.
Asked about the timing of Rahman's possible visit to India, Khalil said, “First of all, I am not an astrologer. So, I cannot predict on which exact day it will happen.”
Bangladesh currently holds the BIMSTEC chairmanship, with the organisation's secretariat based in Dhaka.
On Dhaka's request for the extradition of former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Jaiswal said the matter was being examined in accordance with the established process.
The meeting of PM-chosen envoy Trivedi, a former Railway Minister, with BNP supremo took place amidst tension in bilateral relations following Sheikh Hasina’s virtual press conference on August 5.
The Awami League leader and her son Sajeeb had criticised Rahman’s government with the latter saying - "Bangladesh is now new Pakistan".
“Bangladesh hopes that India will expedite the process of extraditing Sheikh Hasina,” said Shahadat Shadhin, the Prime Minister’s Deputy Press Secretary.
He also said that Rahman emphasised on the need to create "a conducive environment to further advance India-Bangladesh bilateral relations.”
Jaiswal also said the Indian side again underlined with Chinese that maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas is essential for the overall development of bilateral relations.
"It was agreed to continue to use existing diplomatic and military channels, including the WMCC, local commander-level meetings and other agreed mechanisms, to resolve outstanding issues and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation along the LAC," he said.
India and China rolled out a series of measures in the last over one year to rebuild their relationship after it came under severe strain following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020 and the subsequent military face-off that lasted for over four years.
In October 2024, the two sides firmed up a disengagement pact for Depsang and Demchok, the last two friction points in eastern Ladakh.
Days after the agreement was finalised, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks in Kazan and took a number of decisions to improve the ties.
In August last year, Modi travelled to the Chinese city of Tianjin to attend the annual SCO summit. Modi and Xi held extensive talks on the sidelines of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) summit.
In the meeting, Modi said India is committed to taking forward its ties with China based on mutual trust, respect and sensitivity.
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