Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman upon his arrival in New Delhi on April 7, 2026. Photo: X/@MEAIndia
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman arrived here on Tuesday (April 7, 2026). This is the first high-level bilateral visit from Bangladesh in more than a year, although Mr Rahman, who was national security adviser in the country’s interim government, traveled to Delhi in November 2025 for a regional meeting.
Mr. Khalilur Rahman met India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval for dinner on Tuesday (April 7) to begin his official communication. During his stay here, from April 7 to April 9, Mr Rahman is expected to hold several more meetings with top Indian government officials, including his counterpart, Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
“India and Bangladesh share warm and historic ties anchored in strong people-to-people relations. The visit will further strengthen the India-Bangladesh partnership,” said official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Randhir Jaiswal while welcoming Mr. Khalilur Rahman accompanied by Prime Minister Humayun Kobir, Advisor on Foreign Affairs to Bangladesh Tarshi
Tarique Rahman was sworn into power on 17 February after leading his party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), to a landslide victory in the 12 February elections.
Mr. Khalilur Rahman and Mr. Kobir were received by B. Shyam, Joint Secretary of MEA Bangladesh-Myanmar Division, and Bangladesh High Commissioner Riaz Hamidullah. The MEA had earlier issued a travel advisory for Mr. Khalilur Rahman and informed that the visit would begin on Tuesday evening (April 7) and end on Thursday (April 9, 2026) morning.
The visit is being interpreted as exceptional as it is the first time that Delhi has hosted a Bangladeshi foreign minister in Hyderabad since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government on August 5, 2024. Bilateral relations cooled during the caretaker government’s rule due to the continued presence of Ms. Hasina in India, where she had taken refuge after fleeing a threatening mission to the Indian center, and also for a visa mission.
The plans for Mr. Khalilur Rahman’s visit have been closely guarded and neither side has made the usual official statement. An MEA advisory, issued hours before the arrival of the dignitaries, described the visit as “official”, while sources in Dhaka described the visit as a “transit trip”. The caution surrounding the visit could arise primarily from the fact that India-Bangladesh relations are still normalizing.
On Wednesday (April 8, 2026), Mr Jaishankar will host a lunch meeting for Mr Khalilur Rahman at Hyderabad House, followed by a meeting with Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in the afternoon at Vanijya Bhavan. Later in the day, Mr. Rahman will meet Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
He will leave for Mauritius on Thursday morning (April 9) to attend the Indian Ocean Conference organized by the India Foundation, the Government of Mauritius and the MEA. The Hindu had earlier reported that the two sides would discuss issues related to the sharing of Ganga River waters, energy cooperation and normalization of visa processes that hamper trade and people-to-people contacts. Prothom Alo, a leading Bangladeshi daily, reported that Mr. Khalilur Rahman will raise the need to end the restrictive measures imposed by India between April and June 2025, which are affecting Bangladesh’s garment exports to its external markets.
Published – 07 Apr 2026 22:57 IST
