Bangladesh said it wants to ‘reset’ its relationship with India and build a new bilateral engagement based on mutual interests, describing ties during the tenure of deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as ‘uncomfortable’.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir made the remarks on Sunday, two days after Bangladesh said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman would not participate in the BRICS Summit hosted by India as he was not invited to the event, with the invitation instead extended to the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) chair.
The two-day BRICS Summit concluded in New Delhi on Sunday. India had invited Rahman to attend the summit in his capacity as BIMSTEC chair, while a separate bilateral invitation had been extended to him in February.
‘Want to ‘reset’ ties with India’
Kobir told reporters that Bangladesh wants to ‘reset’ its bilateral relationship with India and move towards a new engagement through direct discussions rather than multilateral forums. “We want to move towards a new relationship, which should be done through bilateral discussions, not through a multilateral forum,” he said.
India-Bangladesh ties have been strained since New Delhi provided refuge to Hasina, who fled to India after being ousted following a youth-led agitation in August 2024.
Kobir said Bangladesh needs to move beyond what he called an ‘excessive preoccupation’ with India and adopt a more balanced approach to its relationship with New Delhi. He said the focus should remain on mutual interests while viewing ties with India as part of Bangladesh’s broader engagement with other countries. “We have to get out of the India fascination. India is just another country, and Bangladesh wants good bilateral relations with it,” he said.
Responding to a question, the minister said, “Breakfast in India, lunch in India, dinner in India — then when will you eat your own food?”
Bangladesh PM to visit US
Kobir also said Prime Minister Rahman is scheduled to leave for New York on September 21 to attend the 81st session of the UN General Assembly and stay there until September 26.
Asked about the possibility of a meeting between Rahman and US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UNGA, he said such meetings are often decided at the last moment during major international conferences. “The primary focus of the Prime Minister’s visit is to address the UN General Assembly,” Kobir said, adding that details of the sideline meetings would be known in due course.
(With PTI inputs)
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