Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi is returning to New Delhi today, shortly after meeting Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, a source at Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry confirmed to Daily Waadaa.

Trivedi, a former Indian cabinet minister who holds ministerial rank as high commissioner, is expected to brief senior officials in New Delhi on the outcome of his meeting with the Bangladeshi prime minister, the source said.

Waadaa also spoke to several officials in the Bangladeshi and Indian governments who indicated that Trivedi’s ‘hurried trip’ to Delhi is likely linked to Dhaka’s response to an invitation for Rahman to attend the BRICS summit as chair of BIMSTEC.

According to the officials, the Tarique administration has so far given New Delhi no definitive commitment that the prime minister will attend the September 12-13 summit.

One highly placed source told Waadaa that Tarique Rahman is unlikely to travel to New Delhi unless India creates an “enabling environment” and takes some “trust and confidence building measures.”

Another source told Waadaa that India also needs to extend an invitation for a bilateral state visit to PM Rahman, potentially immediately before or after the BRICS summit.

“Without an invitation for a bilateral visit, even if it is an extension of the BRICS trip by a day, the prime minister is unlikely to visit Delhi,” the source said.

Trivedi’s return to New Delhi comes hours after his first meeting with Tarique Rahman since taking office as high commissioner in June, adding significance to the timing of the trip.

During Monday’s meeting, Rahman urged India to expedite the extradition of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and return suspects wanted in connection with the killing of Sharif Osman Hadi, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Trivedi paid a courtesy call on Rahman at the Prime Minister’s Office in the Cabinet Division of the Bangladesh Secretariat, where the two discussed key issues in Bangladesh-India relations.

“The Prime Minister emphasised the need to create a conducive environment to further advance bilateral relations between the two countries,” the PMO said.

Trivedi also shared his experience of serving in Dhaka over the past two months.

Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman and the prime minister’s foreign affairs adviser, Humayun Kabir, were present at the meeting.

India appointed Trivedi, a veteran politician from West Bengal who previously served as India’s railway and health minister, as its 16th high commissioner to Bangladesh in April, replacing Pranay Kumar Verma.

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