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Published : 25 Jun 2026, 01:17 PM
Dinesh Trivedi, Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh, has been granted equivalent status of a union cabinet minister for ceremonial functions.
The announcement was made in a memo signed by Kamlesh Rabidas, under secretary to the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, on Wednesday.
“The undersigned is directed to say that Shri Dinesh Trivedi, High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh has been assigned the equivalent status of Union Cabinet Minister in the Table of Precedence (ToP) as a measure personal to him, without amending the Table of Precedence,” it said.
“This position in the Table of Precedence is for ceremonial functions only.”
Trivedi was confirmed as the Indian envoy to Bangladesh on Apr 27.
The appointment marked a notable shift from India's longstanding tradition of posting career diplomats to Dhaka, opting instead for a politician and former union minister to lead the mission.
Trivedi is a former MP from Barrackpore and a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader. He is also fluent in Bengali.
The appointment of a politician to a key diplomatic post is seen as a strategic move by the Narendra Modi government to reset ties with Bangladesh.
Bilateral relations faced significant strain following the ousting of Sheikh Hasina in August 2024 and the subsequent tenure of the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.
Relations have shown signs of normalisation after the BNP came to power after the elections in February.
Trivedi arrived in Bangladesh on Jun 12.
Asked by a journalist about when tourist visas between the two countries would be granted with more regularity, he brushed aside the notion of separation.
"We have 1.4 billion, add 200 million -- that's 1.6 billion. Whatever happens, happens together. I simply cannot think of us separately," he said.
"I walked over just now and I don't feel like I'm not Bangladeshi. I always say -- same sky, same air."
Trivedi takes over from Pranay Verma, who served in Dhaka from September 2022 and has been appointed India's ambassador to Belgium and the European Union (EU).
