India, Bangladesh move to thaw ties with trade and visa talks

India and Bangladesh are stepping up efforts to normalise bilateral relations by restarting institutional talks on trade and consular affairs, even as uncertainty persists over the timing of Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s proposed visit to New Delhi.

A Bangladeshi delegation is set to travel to New Delhi on Wednesday for a meeting of the India-Bangladesh joint working group on trade on October 8 and 9, people familiar with the matter said. The two sides are separately working to finalise dates for a meeting of the joint working group on consular matters, which will be hosted by Dhaka.

Trade talks resume

The trade meeting represents an attempt by the two governments to restore regular institutional engagement after bilateral relations went through a prolonged period of strain.

The Bangladesh delegation was initially expected to arrive on Tuesday for talks scheduled for October 7 and 8. However, the team could not travel because of logistical reasons, prompting the meeting to be rescheduled to October 8 and 9.

Dhaka had also sought a meeting between the commerce secretaries of the two countries immediately after the joint working group discussions.

The Indian side, however, has conveyed that a commerce secretary-level meeting should take place only after other institutional mechanisms dealing with issues such as transit and border trade have also met.

The sequencing indicates that New Delhi wants the broader architecture of bilateral economic engagement to resume before the two sides move to higher-level commerce discussions.

Visa issues in focus

Alongside trade, consular and visa matters have emerged as another important area for engagement.

India and Bangladesh are working to finalise dates for the joint working group on consular matters, with the meeting expected to be held in Dhaka. Several visa-related issues are likely to figure prominently in the discussions.

People familiar with the developments said the two governments view the revival of these institutional mechanisms as an important step towards restoring a degree of normalcy in relations.

Regular movement of people has historically been an important component of India-Bangladesh ties, including for business, education, tourism and medical treatment. Addressing consular issues is therefore seen as an important part of rebuilding routine engagement between the neighbours.

Ties hit prolonged low

Relations between New Delhi and Dhaka deteriorated sharply after the Sheikh Hasina government was ousted following student-led protests in August 2024 and an interim administration headed by Muhammad Yunus took charge.

The political transition brought several longstanding and new bilateral disagreements to the fore, pushing ties to one of their lowest points in years.

India subsequently sought to rebuild engagement after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party swept the February general election and Tarique Rahman assumed office as Prime Minister.

New Delhi extended two invitations to Rahman — one for a bilateral visit and another to attend the BRICS Summit in his capacity as chairman of the BIMSTEC grouping.

Bangladesh, however, decided not to participate in the BRICS Summit last month, and the two sides have so far been unable to finalise dates for Rahman’s bilateral visit.

Rahman visit uncertain

Scheduling has emerged as one of the factors complicating plans for the Bangladesh Prime Minister’s visit.

The Indian diplomatic calendar is particularly crowded over the coming months. Swiss President Guy Parmelin and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk are expected to visit India in October, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to travel to the Philippines for the ASEAN Summit from November 16 to 18.

Modi is also expected to have a busy diplomatic calendar in December, with visits to the United States, Canada and Belgium on the agenda.

Rahman, meanwhile, is expected to travel to Japan in October before visiting Türkiye and Saudi Arabia in November. Finding a mutually convenient window for a substantive bilateral visit has consequently proved difficult.

Institutional route to reset

With a summit-level meeting yet to be scheduled, officials are increasingly turning to established bilateral mechanisms to rebuild engagement.

Trade, transit, border commerce and consular affairs provide areas where officials can resume practical cooperation even while more politically sensitive disagreements remain unresolved.

The approach could allow both governments to address immediate concerns without making progress in every contentious area a prerequisite for dialogue.

India and Bangladesh share extensive economic, geographic and people-to-people links, making prolonged disruption of routine engagement difficult for both sides. Bilateral trade, cross-border connectivity and the movement of people are particularly dependent on functioning institutional mechanisms.

More difficult issues remain

The resumption of talks does not mean that the broader strains in the relationship have been resolved. Several more difficult issues continue to affect ties, and the two sides remain engaged in managing the fallout from the political changes in Bangladesh since 2024.

The renewed trade and consular dialogue nevertheless signals an attempt to separate practical cooperation from larger political disagreements.

The October 8-9 trade talks will be an early test of that approach. Progress there, followed by discussions on transit, border trade and consular matters, could create the groundwork for higher-level engagement and eventually a bilateral visit by Rahman.

For now, New Delhi and Dhaka appear to be pursuing a gradual reset — restoring working-level channels first while leaving more contentious political issues and a summit-level meeting to be addressed as the relationship stabilises.