National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval is hosting Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman for dinner talks shortly after his arrival in New Delhi on Tuesday evening, with the visit seen as part of the Tariq Rahman government’s efforts to forge a new relationship based on mutual trust and common interests.
Abdul Rahman, a veteran UN diplomat who served as NSA in the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus, will be the first minister to visit India since the Bangladesh Nationalist Party won the general elections in February. His accompanying delegation includes Humayun Kabir, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and one of the most influential members of Prime Minister Tariq Rahman’s inner circle.
Doval has played a key behind-the-scenes role in relations with Bangladesh in recent years, and his meeting with Rahman will be an opportunity for the two sides to further reset the relationship after tensions during the interim administration, people familiar with the matter said.
Kabir, who forged a close relationship with Prime Minister Abdul Rahman while the latter was in self-imposed exile in the UK for 17 years, is expected to meet members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s External Affairs Cell to strengthen the overall relationship.
The Bangladesh Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that Dhaka will emphasize “stability and continuous development of bilateral relations on the basis of dignity, trust, mutual respect and common interests” during Rahman’s meetings with Indian interlocutors, including Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
The statement expressed hope that Rahman’s visit would lay an “important foundation” to advance bilateral cooperation to a more fruitful and sustainable level.
The Ministry of External Affairs said that Rahman will also meet Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri on Wednesday. The meeting with Puri is of great importance due to Dhaka’s request for additional fuel supplies, especially diesel, to help Bangladesh cope with the energy crisis caused by the conflict in West Asia.
Other key topics expected to be raised in Rahman’s meetings include easing visa restrictions imposed by the Indian side, especially for tourists and businessmen, restoring access to Indian land and sea ports, which were restricted in 2025 as relations deteriorated, accelerating the process of renewing the Ganges Water Treaty which is scheduled to expire in December, and Indian border guards’ firing on Bangladeshi nationals who cross the border.
The Indian side insisted that the border guards took action against smugglers and cross-border criminal elements, while Bangladeshi officials said such people should be arrested and prosecuted, instead of using lethal force against them.
Ahead of Rahman’s visit, Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma met Prime Minister Abdul Rahman in Dhaka on Monday and discussed bilateral engagement, with an “emphasis on people-focused cooperation in multiple areas aligned with the national development priorities of both countries,” the Indian High Commission said on social media.
Verma expressed India’s resolve to work with the government and people of Bangladesh by “adopting a positive, constructive and forward-looking approach” on the basis of mutual interest and mutual benefit.
This is in line with India’s outreach to the BNP leadership in recent months, including Jaishankar’s representation of India at former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s funeral in December and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s participation in Prime Minister Abdul Rahman’s swearing-in ceremony in February.
The BNP insisted on the need for a “new relationship” that represents a break with the era of former Prime Minister and Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina, who has been living in India in self-imposed exile since her government was overthrown in student-led protests in August 2024.
Kabir told reporters in Dhaka on Monday that the two sides should “not make the mistake of the past, where the relationship was just between India and an individual”, and instead work to “create a new space for a new relationship”.
“The relations must be between people – this is what India wants and what we want. There must be engagement and open dialogue between us… so that we can resolve some of the difficult issues,” he said.
“There has to be a complete break. There can no longer be a relationship between India and Pakistan [Sheikh] Hasina. Hasina does not exist in Bangladesh. “It has long been dead politically, and there is no Hasina or Awami League in Bangladesh.”
