No Hurry, high optimism: India navigates uncertain timeline for PM Tarique’s visit
Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi with State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir. Photo: Indian High Commission's Facebook page.
India's High Commissioner in Dhaka, Dinesh Trivedi, once again expressed his optimism that PM Tarique Rahman will visit India. He was responding to a journalist after a courtesy meeting with State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Humayun Kabir.
On the other hand, in response to a journalist's question regarding the prime minister's visit to India, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir said that when a favorable environment is created, the prime minister can make the visit.
Noting that there is no kind of hurry regarding Prime Minister Tareq Rahman's visit to India, High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi said, "The invitation given to Prime Minister Tareq Rahman to visit India is still valid. It does not seem that there is any need for such haste. When the time comes, it will surely happen (the visit). Everything is very positive. But we must give it time. Within a certain time, everything will be positive. There is no question of anything negative here. I am positive, our prime minister, and even the people of Bangladesh, are positive. However, I am confident that the two countries' prime ministers will meet when they consider the time suitable."
Meanwhile, regarding the meeting, Humayun Kabir told journalists, "This is my first courtesy meeting with the Indian high commissioner after receiving the new responsibility as state minister for foreign affairs. We had a very good, cordial, fruitful, and effective discussion and review. We certainly have some challenges. But we will overcome the challenges through discussion and dialogue. We are hopeful about being able to overcome these challenges. Besides, when a favorable environment is created, the prime minister may also visit. The discussion here went quite well and was completed in a very cordial atmosphere, as I said earlier."
Referring to the reality of bilateral politics at the meeting, Dinesh Trivedi said, "Both Bangladesh and India have certain political obligations. But even amid these, the overall relationship and potential are positive."
When asked whether there was any discussion with the Indian high commissioner regarding the visit of India's national security advisor to Dhaka, the state minister said, "There was no discussion on this. Here, some discussion took place regarding the visit (of the prime minister), and we are positive about it. As I said, there are some challenges, and we are moving forward through discussion on them. We have a positive outlook regarding future opportunities."
In response to a question about when the prime minister's visit might take place, Humayun Kabir said, "The time will be determined later. When a mutually favorable environment for the visit is created through discussion, then we will be able to discuss the time and date in detail."
When asked about speculation that the visit might take place sometime in November, the state minister said, "Discussions are ongoing. But I cannot talk about speculation. There is so much speculation. I do not talk about speculation; I talk about reality. The reality is that today we had a very good meeting. I am very hopeful that we will get positive results in the very near future. And there are certainly challenges, as I told you earlier. We will solve these challenges through talks. If the environment is favorable and on the basis of mutual respect, this visit will take place."
