Premium

Former Union minister Dinesh Trivedi set to be India’s next High Commissioner to Bangladesh

This comes amid efforts to reset bilateral ties after the new Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was formed in February following elections.

3 min readUpdated: Apr 20, 2026 06:20 AM IST

Trivedi, 75, served as the railway minister and Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare during the UPA rule. (File image)

Dinesh Trivedi, a former Union minister and veteran politician from West Bengal, is likely to be appointed India’s next High Commissioner to Bangladesh, official sources confirmed.

While there is no formal announcement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) yet, a political appointment to the key diplomatic post in Dhaka would mark a deviation from the recent past.

This comes amid efforts to reset bilateral ties after the new Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was formed in February following elections.

Earlier this month, Pranay Verma, a 1994-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer who was serving as India’s High Commissioner in Dhaka since September 2022, was named as the next Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union.

Even as a formal announcement is yet to be made, BJP’s information and technology department head Amit Malviya, who is also co-incharge of the party’s West Bengal unit, congratulated Trivedi Sunday. “Congratulations to Dinesh Trivedi, senior BJP leader, former Union Minister and Barrackpore MP, for being appointed as India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh,” he said in a post on X.

Former Union Minister Suresh Prabhu also congratulated Trivedi in a post on X. “He brings with him valuable experience, a deep understanding of governance, and a balanced approach to policy matters. At a time when India-Bangladesh relations are of great importance, I am confident he will contribute meaningfully to further strengthening our ties,” he said.

A former Union Railways Minister and Minister of State, Health and Family Welfare, Trivedi has close to three decades of experience as a parliamentarian; he was awarded the ‘Outstanding Parliamentarian’ award in 2016. With his roots in student politics, he has been a member of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. He was earlier with the Congress, Janata Dal and the Trinamool Congress, before joining the BJP in 2021.

Story continues below this ad

Earlier this month, during the visit of Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman — the first high-level political outreach to Delhi by the new government in Dhaka — External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reiterated “India’s desire to engage constructively with the new government and further strengthen bilateral ties”.

The Bangladesh Foreign Ministry also “reiterated its request to extradite Sheikh Hasina and her Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to Bangladesh”. Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been in Delhi since August 2024 after being ousted following widespread protests.

Divya A

Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More

Jatin Anand

Jatin Anand is an Assistant Editor with the national political bureau of The Indian Express. With over 16 years of experience in mainstream journalism, he is a seasoned expert in national governance, electoral politics, and bureaucratic affairs. Having covered high-stakes beats including the Election Commission of India (ECI), intelligence, and urban development, Jatin provides authoritative analysis of the forces shaping Indian democracy. He is an alumnus of Zakir Husain Delhi College (DU) and the prestigious Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai, where he specialized in Print Journalism. Expertise High-Stakes Beat Coverage: Throughout his decade-and-a-half career, Jatin has covered some of the most sensitive and influential beats in the country, including: The Election Commission of India (ECI): Monitoring electoral policy, reforms, and the conduct of national and state polls. National Security & Intelligence: Reporting on the internal mechanisms and developments within India's security apparatus. Urban Development: Analyzing the policies and bureaucratic processes driving the transformation of India’s cities. National Political Bureau: In his current role, he tracks the intersection of policy and politics, offering deep-dive reporting on the Union government and national political movements. Academic Credentials: Zakir Husain Delhi College (DU): Alumnus of one of Delhi's premier institutions. Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai: Specialized in Print Journalism at India's most prestigious journalism school. ... Read More

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Loading Recommendations...

May 18: Latest News

Live Blog