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Bangladesh's Foreign Minister, Khalilur Rahman, will leave Dhaka on Wednesday for a visit to India, a senior Bangladesh Foreign Ministry official said on Tuesday. During his visit to India, he will meet several key Indian ministers, including his counterpart S Jaishankar, and Petroleum Minister, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, among others. The Foreign Minister would also be accompanied by PM Tarique Rahman's Advisor on Foreign Affairs during the visit to India.
"Foreign Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman will depart Dhaka on 7 April to participate in the Indian Ocean Conference to be held in Mauritius from 10-12 April 2026. On the way, he will make a stopover in New Delhi", Mahbubul Alam, Director General of Public Diplomacy Wing, Bangladesh Foreign Ministry, told the reporters. "During his stay there, he is scheduled to hold courtesy meetings with India's External Affairs Minister, National Security Adviser, and Petroleum Minister", Alam added. "It is also noted that the Honourable Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Humayun Kabir, will accompany the Foreign Minister during the stopover in India and will also participate in the Mauritius conference", the official said. He further noted that the meetings will emphasise strengthening the stability and continuity of bilateral relations based on mutual respect, trust, and shared interests. Alam further said that it is expected that the engagements will lay an important foundation for further enhancing cooperation between Bangladesh and India more effectively and sustainably in the future. The high-level visit comes shortly after the High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh, Pranay Verma, paid a courtesy call on Bangladesh's Prime Minister, Tarique Rahman, on Monday. He held discussions on the ties between New Delhi and Dhaka, with a focus on people-centric cooperation in multiple domains aligned with the national development priorities of the two countries. The discussions focused on enhancing cooperation in a wide range of areas, including public health, financial inclusion, women's empowerment, rural development, bilateral trade and investment, ease of doing business, technology partnerships, and power and energy cooperation, it added. High Commissioner underlined that India-Bangladesh cooperation should transform their geographical proximity into new opportunities by strengthening economic and connectivity linkages, and by enhancing cultural and people-to-people exchanges. High Commissioner conveyed India's intent to work together with the Government and the people of Bangladesh in a positive, constructive and forward-looking manner based on mutual interest and mutual benefit. On April 3, Bangladesh High Commissioner to India, Riaz Hamidullah, held talks on defence collaboration with Chief of Army Staff, General Upendra Dwivedi. Hamidullah and General Dwivedi deliberated on enhancing bilateral defence cooperation, including joint training initiatives. Meanwhile on March 27, Union Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh underscored the enduring strength of Indo-Bangladesh ties, describing the partnership as strategic and people-focused and both resilient and forward-looking while addressing the National Day Reception marking the 56th Independence and National Day of Bangladesh at the Bangladesh High Commission in the national capital. (ANI)
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