No new information on Tarique Rahman’s India visit: Jaiswal

India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal has said there is no new information on whether Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will attend the outreach session of the BRICS summit.

He said this in response to journalists’ questions at the regular press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The BRICS summit is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 12 and 13. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited Bangladesh’s Prime Minister to attend the outreach session of the summit. However, Tarique Rahman’s visit to India has not yet been confirmed.

When asked about Tarique Rahman’s possible visit to India, Jaiswal said he has no new information to share on this matter.

Tensions arose in Bangladesh-India relations after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024. Sheikh Hasina is currently staying in India. The Bangladesh government has requested multiple times for her return. However, India has not yet announced any final decision on this matter.

Journalists also asked Jaiswal whether Tarique Rahman’s visit to India and the extradition of Sheikh Hasina were discussed in the recent meeting of India’s High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi with Bangladesh’s President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in Dhaka.

In reply, he said the meeting was mainly a courtesy call. Discussions were held there on various aspects of India-Bangladesh relations, the mutual relations between the people of the two countries and how this relationship can be taken forward in the future.

Jaiswal was also asked about reports that inter-country passenger trains between India and Bangladesh may resume from next October after being suspended for two years. He said he has no updated information on this matter.