Bangladesh and India are moving to revive stalled institutional engagements on trade, visas and consular affairs, in what appears to be the latest effort by the two neighbours to bring their strained relationship back towards normalcy.

A Bangladeshi delegation is expected to travel to New Delhi on Wednesday for a meeting of the Bangladesh-India joint working group on trade on October 8 and 9, the Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The two governments are also working to finalise dates for a separate meeting of the joint working group on consular matters, which is expected to be hosted by Dhaka.

The consular talks have assumed particular importance as the two countries seek to resolve outstanding visa-related issues, according to the report.

The trade meeting had initially been scheduled for October 7-8, with the Bangladesh delegation expected to travel on Tuesday. The visit, however, was delayed because of logistical reasons, pushing the talks back by a day.

Dhaka had also sought a commerce secretary-level meeting immediately after the joint working group talks. New Delhi, however, has indicated that such a meeting should take place only after other institutional mechanisms dealing with issues including transit and border trade have met, the newspaper reported.

The renewed engagements come against the backdrop of attempts by both governments to repair bilateral relations following a prolonged period of tension after the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government in August 2024.

Relations deteriorated sharply during the subsequent interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, with disagreements emerging over a range of political, security and diplomatic issues.

India stepped up its outreach after the BNP's landslide victory in the February election and Tarique Rahman became prime minister.

New Delhi has since invited Tarique twice — for a bilateral visit to India and to attend the BRICS Summit as chairman of BIMSTEC. Bangladesh ultimately stayed away from the BRICS gathering, while dates for Tarique's bilateral visit to New Delhi have yet to be finalised.

Scheduling has also emerged as a hurdle. India has a busy diplomatic calendar over the coming months, while Tarique is expected to visit Japan in October and Türkiye and Saudi Arabia in November.

The resumption of trade and consular mechanisms, however, signals that Dhaka and New Delhi are seeking to rebuild working-level engagement even as larger political issues remain unresolved.