No decision yet on PM’s India visit: FM

The government has not yet made any policy decision on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s proposed visit to India, Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman said on Monday.

Briefing reporters on the outcome of Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi’s courtesy meeting with the prime minister, Khalil said the government is yet to decide whether Tarique would attend the BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12-13 at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Asked when Bangladesh-India relations would return to normal and whether the government would accept invitations extended to the prime minister, the foreign minister said, “First of all, I am not an astrologer. So, I cannot predict on which exact day it will happen.”

“Secondly, the BRICS invitation was not extended to the prime minister personally. It was addressed to the chairperson of BIMSTEC,” he said.

Khalil said Bangladesh had received two invitations from India - one from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a bilateral visit and another for the BIMSTEC chairperson to attend the BRICS summit.

The foreign minister said Trivedi’s meeting with the Prime Minister was largely a courtesy call, during which they briefly discussed several bilateral issues, including the extradition of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and the return of suspects in the killing of Inquilab Moncho spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi.

Bangladesh urged India to expedite Hasina’s extradition, Khalil said.

“We hope India will respond positively in this regard,” he added.

He also said Bangladesh had handed over documents requested by India regarding the suspects in Hadi’s killing and urged New Delhi to extradite them.

Referring to Hasina’s address at an event in India on August 5, Khalil said Bangladesh had clearly conveyed its position to New Delhi.

He said Indian authorities had understood the seriousness of the issue and that he was “somewhat reassured” that such an incident would not be repeated.

“We hope they will not do anything to undermine any pillar of our state again,” he said.

Asked whether the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty was discussed during the Indian high commissioner’s meeting with the prime minister, the foreign minister said it was purely a courtesy meeting.

On recent border killings and push-ins, Khalil said the issues were only briefly touched upon during the meeting.

He said river management and the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty were not discussed during the courtesy call.

“Generally, when a high commissioner meets the head of government, specific issues such as treaties are not discussed,” he said.

Khalil also advised journalists to understand diplomatic protocols and the different levels of diplomatic engagement.