Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will visit India once ongoing discussions make sufficient progress, with Bangladesh’s national interests remaining the key consideration, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir said Saturday.
“There is no rush” for the visit, Kobir told journalists after paying tribute to the Liberation War martyrs at the National Memorial in Savar.
He said Bangladesh wants to build a positive and effective relationship with India because of the two countries’ close geographical ties. But such a relationship, he stressed, cannot come at the cost of Bangladesh’s interests.
“We want a positive relationship with India. Why wouldn’t we? They are our neighbours. We should have an effective relationship,” he said.
“Not only with India, but with no country can we do anything by compromising our national interests,” Kobir added.
Asked about the extradition of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, the state minister said Bangladesh wants to bring back Hasina and other alleged offenders who fled to India.
He said judicial proceedings in several cases against Hasina have already concluded, while many others are still pending. Hasina fled to India after the July 2024 mass uprising, during which around 1,500 people were killed, he said.
Bangladesh and India already have an extradition treaty, Kobir noted, describing the issue as part of the countries’ ongoing engagement rather than a new condition.
“There are more criminals who have fled to India. This is a natural demand of the people of Bangladesh and a matter of their sentiment. We want to engage with India by giving priority to this process,” he said.
Kobir said the government is continuing discussions with New Delhi and wants to complete the necessary groundwork before a meeting between the two prime ministers.
“If we reach an agreement based on our national interests tomorrow, we can go next week, or the week after. There is no rush here,” he said.
He also stressed that a prime ministerial visit requires proper preparation and cannot be arranged suddenly.
“There are issues to discuss and preparations to make. A prime ministerial-level visit is not something that can just happen suddenly. This is not a game,” Kobir said.
According to the state minister, Bangladesh has also noticed signs of goodwill from India, including acknowledgement of public sentiment in Bangladesh.
He said India had taken note of concerns over Sheikh Hasina’s August 5 press conference, which he said had hurt the sentiments of people in Bangladesh.
“We have seen statements coming from India on this issue. They have acknowledged that the sentiments of the people of Bangladesh have been hurt,” Kobir said, calling the development a “good beginning.”
He added that Bangladesh would assess the progress of the remaining discussions and decide on the India visit based on the outcome and the country’s national interests.
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