Bangladesh FM in India, most senior visit since 2024 uprising

NEW DELHI: Bangladesh’s foreign minister met his Indian counterpart in New Delhi on Wednesday, the most senior visit by a Dhaka envoy since the 2024 revolution toppled India’s old ally Sheikh Hasina.

Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman is taking part in a “goodwill visit”, Bangladesh’s state news agency BSS said, but added that issues of “extradition, trade, water sharing and border security” would be discussed.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Dhaka in December to attend the funeral of former leader Khaleda Zia, the mother of the prime minister elected in February, Tarique Rahman.

Jaishankar said he had been “pleased to host” Khalilur Rahman, saying in a statement that they had discussed “strengthening our bilateral relationship”, without giving further details.

Relations have improved since Tarique Rahman, leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, won a landslide election victory, taking over from the interim administration that had led the country of 170 million people since Hasina was ousted.

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Hasina fled to India, where she has remained in hiding, straining relations between Dhaka and New Delhi.

Bangladesh has repeatedly requested Hasina’s extradition. She was sentenced to death in absentia in November for orchestrating a deadly crackdown on the uprising.

Bangladesh was also expected to seek greater energy supplies from India, as it grapples with the impact of the Middle East war.