Dinesh Trivedi appointed India's next envoy to Bangladesh amid efforts to reset ties

Verma played a role in initiating the efforts to reset the ties after the new Bangladesh Nationalist Party government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman came to power in February. The two sides initiated efforts to stabilise the relations after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, represented India at the inauguration of Tarique Rahman as the prime minister in Dhaka on February 17.

Former Union minister Dinesh Trivedi was appointed India's next High Commissioner to Bangladesh on Monday amid efforts by the two countries to repair frayed bilateral ties. He is expected to take up the assignment shortly, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a brief statement. New Delhi's decision to send a seasoned politician to Dhaka comes at a time when both sides are looking to rebuild relations that came under severe strain during the tenure of Bangladesh's interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus. A veteran politician from West Bengal, 75-year-old Trivedi held key portfolios as Railway Minister and Minister of State for Health during the UPA government. Having represented the state in the Rajya Sabha and as the Lok Sabha MP for Barrackpore, he resigned from the Trinamool Congress in February 2021 and subsequently joined the BJP. Trivedi holds an MBA degree from the University of Texas, Austin. He will succeed Pranay Verma, who has been appointed as New Delhi's next ambassador to Belgium and the European Union (EU). The relations between India and Bangladesh witnessed a major downturn after the Yunus-led interim government came to power following the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina government in August, 2024. Verma played a role in initiating the efforts to reset the ties after the new Bangladesh Nationalist Party government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman came to power in February. Earlier this month, Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman visited India and held talks with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The focus of the meetings was to bolster the bilateral ties including in areas of trade, energy and people-to-people exchanges. The two sides initiated efforts to stabilise the relations after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, represented India at the inauguration of Tarique Rahman as the prime minister in Dhaka on February 17. Rahman became the prime minister following his party BNP's landslide victory in the parliamentary polls.