Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday evening on a three-day official visit aimed at reinforcing bilateral ties between the two nations.
With India and Bangladesh seeking to reset bilateral ties after a strain of nearly one and half years, Rahman’s visit holds a special significance.
Khalilur Rahman will meet top Indian ministers on Wednesday and chalk out the roadmap for normalising relations between the two nations.
This is the first high-level visit from Bangladesh after the Tarique Rahman-led Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) government assumed office in Dhaka.
In a post on X, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal wrote, “Warm welcome to FM Khalilur Rahman of Bangladesh on his arrival in New Delhi today. India and Bangladesh share warm and historic ties anchored in strong people to people relations. The visit will further bolster India Bangladesh partnership.”
The Bangladesh minister, who is bound for Mauritius to participate in the Indian Ocean Conference scheduled to be held in on April 10-12, 2026, en route has made a stopover in New Delhi.
He was accompanied by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s adviser on foreign affairs Humayun Kabir and other senior officials, clearly reflecting the importance the new government in Dhaka attaches to ties with New Delhi
India is very optimistic about the upcoming visit with senior officials quite sure that it will put the bilateral relationship back on track after witnessing downslide when the Muhammad Yunus-led caretaker regime was at the helm in Dhaka following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024.
During his visit, the Bangladeshi minister is expected to hold talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Sources said Rahman could also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, depending upon the availability of the Indian leader, who is busy with campaigning for the coming Assembly elections.