When Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman lands in Delhi for a two-day visit this afternoon, the first high-level political outreach from Dhaka’s new government, he carries something more significant than a diplomatic agenda. He carries the possibility of a genuine reset in one of South Asia’s most consequential bilateral relationships. The visit also marks 50 days of the Tarique Rahman-led BNP government, and the timing is significant.

The groundwork was laid quietly but purposefully. In March, Bangladesh’s intelligence chief, Major General Kaiser Rashid Chowdhury of the DGFI, visited Delhi and met counterparts at RAW and Military Intelligence. India’s High Commissioner Pranay Verma met Prime Minister Tarique Rahman just days before the foreign minister’s departure, speaking of a “positive, constructive and forward-looking approach based on mutual interest and mutual benefit.” Delhi had been signalling its intent long before Dhaka responded. That patience is now bearing fruit.
The BNP government that swept Bangladesh’s February 2026 elections inherited a relationship with India that had been placed on ice. The Muhammad Yunus-led interim period – 18 months of accumulated frost – saw visa restrictions, stalled connectivity projects, suspended cooperation frameworks, and a diplomatic silence that served no one. India waited. It did not walk away.
Link: https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/new-delhi-dhaka-anti-india-tarique-rahman-10623136/