Sources told NDTV that Rahman may visit India in the second half of next week, with preparations reportedly underway in both capitals for the proposed trip.
If the visit goes ahead as planned, it would be Rahman’s first official trip to India since he became Prime Minister earlier this year following the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) landmark victory in the parliamentary elections.
The two-day visit is being planned as a bilateral engagement, although details, including the schedule, are still being worked out, people familiar with the discussions told NDTV.
Earlier, Bangladesh’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam had said that Rahman’s proposed visit to India had not yet been finalised, with the timing dependent on his schedule and the progress of discussions with other countries.
Speaking to reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islam said the government was currently occupied with domestic programmes and upcoming constitutional activities.
“The government is busy, and so is the prime minister,” she said, according to The Daily Star.
Asked whether Rahman would attend the upcoming BRICS summit’s outreach session or undertake a bilateral visit to India, Islam said there was still sufficient time to take a decision.
“A lot can happen in a month,” she said.
The state minister said Rahman was currently engaged in various activities at home and that none of his proposed foreign visits, including the trip to India, had been finalised.
“If everything fits together, then of course there will be a visit to India, a visit to Japan; all the visits will happen,” she said.
The remarks came days after Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi met Rahman in Dhaka.
During the meeting, Bangladesh urged India to “expedite” the extradition of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been living in India since her ouster in 2024, amid renewed tensions between the two neighbours.
The meeting took place days after Hasina held a virtual press conference on August 5, during which she criticised the Rahman-led government, drawing strong objections from Dhaka.