4 min readNew DelhiAug 10, 2026 05:10 AM IST
First published on: Aug 10, 2026 at 05:10 AM IST
Amid tensions over ousted Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina’s media event in Delhi last week, High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi said that an upcoming meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Dhaka counterpart, Tarique Rahman, will iron out the issues between the two nations.
His comment, made at an event at the Indian Visa Application Centre in the Bangladesh capital on Sunday, comes days after Dhaka expressed ‘outrage’ at Hasina’s virtual press conference, which India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was quick to dismiss any role in, while maintaining that it does not endorse anything said at the forum.
“When two leaders meet, a lot of problems are solved. I have full confidence [about the problem being resolved in the meeting],” Trivedi said on Sunday, adding, “We all respect Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman a lot. He is a people’s person, and so is our PM.”
Last week, Hasina in her Delhi address said that she was determined to return to Bangladesh in December to put the country on the “right track” by restoring democracy, notwithstanding the risk of facing the threat of imprisonment or a death sentence.
In a statement soon after, Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry expressed outrage over the interaction saying the event hurt the sentiments of its people and could adversely affect efforts to improve bilateral ties with India.
Rahman’s foreign advisor, Humayun Kabir, too, had flagged during a meeting with Trivedi that such activities [in reference to Hasina’s press conference] could undermine the positive progress in Bangladesh-India relations.
In response, the envoy assured Kabir that the matter would be considered appropriately, saying the Indian side would conduct the necessary inquiries and remain vigilant on the issue.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s formal extradition request for Hasina, a former prime minister, remains pending and under review by the Indian government.
The High Commissioner to Dhaka, as per reports, is on Monday likely to call on the Bangladesh prime minister. Among the agenda of their discussion would also be India’s invitation to Rahman to attend the BRICS summit in New Delhi next month as the chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
So far, Dhaka has not confirmed the prime minister’s attendance at the event, even as reports emerge in Bangladesh media that Rahman may skip the India visit in the context of the latest flashpoint.
Prothom Alo on Sunday reported that it is ‘almost certain’ their leader would skip India’s invitation to participate in the BRICS summit.
Besides inviting him as chair of BIMSTEC, India had earlier invited Rahman for a bilateral visit soon after his swearing-in, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed, adding that New Delhi has “separately extended an invitation to Bangladesh prime minister in his capacity as the current chair of BIMSTEC to attend the outreach session of the 18th BRICS Summit.”
“The invitation has been extended as per the standard practice followed in BRICS for outreach sessions. Other heads of regional groups have also been invited in a similar manner,” Jaiswal highlighted.
Hasina, who has been living in India ever since her ouster in August 2024, faces a death sentence in Bangladesh. Her party, the Awami League, has been banned in the country. (Wikimedia Commons Photo) 
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