New Delhi is one of Dhaka’s most important neighbours but the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Tarique Rahman who is set to make his second official visit abroad after assuming office in February this year, is yet to make an official trip to India.
The proposed bilateral with India is unlikely to happen before his trip to New York on 21st September for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated on Tuesday that the Bangladesh Prime Minister has received two invites from India. The first one was for a bilateral visit and subsequently another invite was extended to him for the BRICS summit as Chair of BIMSTEC. Jaiswal added India has not yet heard from Bangladesh on the visit and there is no update on when Rahman will visit India.
Rahman will present Bangladesh’s new outlook and future vision before world leaders during his address to the UNGA and plans to host a high-level side event to keep the protracted Rohingya refugee crisis prominent on the global agenda.
Addressing the possibility of Rahman visiting India, Bangladesh’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Humaiun Kobir said, “The visit will take place when the timing is conducive and when discussions lead to a mutually acceptable timeframe. Once both sides agree on a suitable schedule, the visit will happen”.
When asked about possible bilateral meetings, including one with US President Donald Trump, Kobir said that the main agenda of Rahman’s visit is to address the United States General Assembly.
“There will be meetings on the sidelines and such meetings often come up at the last minute. That is how multi-lateral forums work. Sometimes you come out of a session and someone can say on that very day that I want to meet the Prime Minister. These things happen on any big summit. There are a lot of changes in the daily diary of world leaders”, Kobir said.
Explaining why Rahman skipped the BRICS summit in New Delhi despite an invitation as Chair of the BIMSTEC, he said that Bangladesh wants to build a “new relationship” with India which should be done through bilateral meetings and not through a multilateral forum.
“I said it and my answer was India specific. We want a good working relationship with India. I think a bilateral visit first is a better thing. You don’t do a multilateral visit first to the country you want to build a good working relationship with. I said this about India. I did not say we will not meet anyone at every multi-lateral visit. These are two distinct things,” Kobir added.
He described India-Bangladesh ties as a “working relationship” and said that Dhaka wants to “reset” it.
“Till now the relationship was with a corrupt, fascist government for 15 years. We will come out of this and move towards a new government. We will do this through a bilateral medium, bilaterally. So, we should have a bilateral visit and not go to a multi-lateral forum. But that does not mean that if we go to a multilateral forum or institution we will not meet on the sidelines. That is not the case and that was never the case,” Kobir added while referring to the possibility of bilateral relations on the sidelines of the UNGA.
Rahman’s address to the UNGA coincides with Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman’s Presidentship of the 81st session. Khalilur Rahman opened the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly on 8 September 2026, at 3pm in New York.
The UN General Assembly is the main policy-making organ of the organisation. Comprising all Member States, it provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter of the United Nations. Each of the 193 Member States of the United Nations has an equal vote.
At the General Debate, the annual meeting of Heads of State and Government at the beginning of the General Assembly session, world leaders make statements outlining their positions and priorities in the context of complex and interconnected global challenges.
Khalilur Rahman will preside over the UN General Assembly’s 81st session, under the theme of “Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all.”
