Bangladesh Wants To Turn Page With India, Build New Relationship Beyond Recent Strains

Bangladesh has said it wants to “reset” its relationship with India and move towards a new phase of bilateral engagement based on mutual interests. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir said Dhaka wants to develop a new relationship with New Delhi through direct bilateral discussions, describing the ties between the two countries during the tenure of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina as “uncomfortable”. His remarks came amid continuing efforts by both sides to manage differences that have strained relations in recent months.

Kobir said Bangladesh wanted to move towards a new relationship with India through bilateral engagement rather than allowing multilateral platforms to become the main avenue for discussions. “We want to move towards a new relationship, which should be done through bilateral discussions, not through a multilateral forum,” he told reporters in Dhaka. His comments came two days after Bangladesh announced that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman would not participate in the BRICS Summit hosted by India, adding another point of sensitivity to an already complicated relationship between the neighbouring countries.

The two-day BRICS Summit concluded in New Delhi on Sunday. India had invited Rahman to attend the summit in his capacity as chairman of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, or BIMSTEC. Bangladesh had said that Rahman would not participate because he had not been invited to the BRICS Summit in his capacity as Bangladesh's prime minister, while the invitation had instead been extended to him as BIMSTEC chair. Separately, India had extended a bilateral invitation to Rahman, which had been in place since February, providing an avenue for direct engagement between the two governments.

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The latest comments from Dhaka come against the backdrop of a significant deterioration in India-Bangladesh relations following the political upheaval in Bangladesh in August 2024. Sheikh Hasina was ousted following a youth-led agitation and subsequently fled to India, where New Delhi provided her refuge. Her presence in India has since become one of the most contentious issues in relations between the two countries. Bangladesh has repeatedly raised concerns regarding the former prime minister, while India has continued diplomatic engagement with Bangladesh's current administration.

Kobir's comments indicate that Bangladesh wants to approach its relationship with India from a new framework following the political transition in Dhaka. His reference to mutual interests and bilateral discussions suggests that the government wants direct engagement to play a greater role in addressing differences between the two sides. The approach also comes at a time when Bangladesh is seeking to define its foreign-policy priorities under its current political leadership, while maintaining relations with its major regional neighbours.

India and Bangladesh share extensive geographical, economic and people-to-people links, making the state of bilateral relations important for both countries. Their relationship covers trade, connectivity, border management, security, water-related issues and cultural ties. Despite the recent political tensions, both sides have continued to maintain diplomatic channels. Dhaka's call for a “reset” now signals an interest in moving beyond the strains of the Hasina period and establishing a new basis for engagement. How that reset develops will depend largely on the ability of India and Bangladesh to address their differences through sustained bilateral dialogue while identifying areas of mutual interest.

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