"Slim" Chances Of Bangladesh PM Visiting India Without Mutual Trust: Top Aide

Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's visit to India could take place once an appropriate environment is created based on mutual trust, confidence, respect for sovereignty, diplomatic dialogue and a dignified invitation, his foreign affairs adviser Humayun Kabir said.

This comes after plans for a possible bilateral visit this week were eventually dropped because of the furore in Bangladesh over former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's interaction with the press at an event organised by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of South Asia in New Delhi on August 5.

However, India has clarified that the government had nothing to do with the event and did not endorse the views expressed at the event.

The domestic mood in Bangladesh, with the escalation of anti-Hasina sentiments, remains a major issue in Bangladesh politics and relations with India, and Rahman's government does not want to risk being seen as being soft on Hasina. Which is why the BNP government wants to send a message that on the Sheikh Hasina issue, it is pushing the envelope with India, even at the cost of important bilateral ties.

India, on the other hand, is keeping the door open for improving ties with an outreach to Bangladesh at several levels.

Kabir said Bangladesh has adopted a policy of not rushing into such a visit without clearly defined national interests.

"However, if an appropriate environment is created in the meantime on the basis of consensus between the two countries, Dhaka will express a positive attitude towards participation in the upcoming BRICS Summit," he told news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sanstha in an interview.

"The possibility of the Prime Minister visiting India ahead of the upcoming BRICS Summit remains slim unless an appropriate environment is created based on consensus between the two countries on specific issues and a dignified invitation," Kabir added.

Speaking at an event organised at the Indian High Commission earlier this week for a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) delegation, India's High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi said, "Prime Minister Modi just mentioned one thing. We need to meet. And you can tell them on my behalf that you have the prime minister of India's assurance that when the honourable prime minister of Bangladesh visits India, he will have such an honourable reception as he deserves," he said.

A stronger engagement between the two leaders would be beneficial to both India and Bangladesh, Trivedi added while mentioning that PM Modi wanted Rahman's visit to be "memorable".

Addressing the gathering, Trivedi underlined that mutual trust is essential for a durable relationship and added that while the two countries had gone through 'hiccups', those differences should not undermine the broader relationship.

However, the issue of Hasina remains a major issue, with Bangladesh bringing up her conviction and death sentence after the events of July and August 2024 that toppled her government in 2024.

Hasina was evacuated from her official residence, Gana Bhavan, by the Bangladesh military in a helicopter and flown to India by a Bangladesh Air Force aircraft minutes before a mob entered her residence on August 5.

A Bangladesh Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft, designated AJAX1431, took off from Bangabandhu Air Base in Dhaka and flew Hasina and her immediate family to the Hindon Air Base in New Delhi.

India received a request for her extradition and has said it is 'under examination'.

The foreign affairs adviser said allowing Indian territory to be used for any destabilising activity against Bangladesh, or providing space to any convicted person, terrorist or murderer, had deeply angered millions of Bangladeshis.

He said New Delhi could not justify such activities under international diplomatic norms, nor could they be defended on the grounds of freedom of expression.

Hasina's supporters point out that Rahman himself conducted political activities from abroad while he was convicted and sentenced in several cases in absence. Those convictions were eventually overturned and the sentences were quashed, allowing Rahman to return home and contest elections in February this year after 17 years in exile.