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Published : 12 Jun 2026, 04:31 PM
New Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi has arrived in Bangladesh with a call for deeper cooperation between the two neighbours, urging joint efforts to address visa restrictions and other longstanding bilateral challenges.
The veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician crossed the Benapole Land Port immigration checkpoint in Jashore at 12pm on Friday alongside his wife, Mrinal Trivedi.
He was received at the frontier by India’s Acting High Commissioner Pawan Kumar Tulsidas Badhe.
Bangladesh Foreign Ministry Deputy Chief of Protocol Arif Mahmood was also present at the border terminal to welcome the delegation.
After completing immigration and protocol formalities, the former Indian federal minister left for Dhaka under tight security.
When a journalist asked the ex-Barrackpore lawmaker when tourist visas between the two countries would resume, Trivedi 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).
Relations between India and Bangladesh deteriorated sharply after the July Uprising of 2024 ousted Sheikh Hasina and brought in Muhammad Yunus's interim government.
After the BNP came to power after the February election, both sides began moving to normalise ties.
Indian media analysis suggests Delhi believes Trivedi, with his deep roots in West Bengal politics and fluency in Bangla, is well placed to close the gap between Dhaka and New Delhi.
Reporters also sought his comments on allegations that India has been pushing people into Bangladesh after describing them as illegal migrants.
Trivedi said “democracies often face issues, but closer cooperation between Bangladesh and India could make them a major economic force”.
He added that building stronger engagement between the two neighbours is important and pledged to carry out his responsibilities while seeking support from people on both sides.
At Benapole, when a journalist described India as Bangladesh’s neighbouring “major power”, Trivedi pushed back on the framing. He said strength lies in unity rather than hierarchy.
“No, we are a combined strength. One side alone is not enough. Together we become real strength, and the world should see that,” he said.
He likened the relationship to a sports team, adding that cooperation across sectors such as sports, health, technology and education could create greater collective impact.
A seasoned figure in West Bengal politics, Trivedi entered public life through the Congress in the 1980s before joining the Janata Dal and serving in India’s upper house of parliament from 1990 to 1996.
When Mamata Banerjee founded the Trinamool Congress in 1998, he joined as its first general secretary and went on to serve as a Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP from 2002 to 2008.
In 2009, Trivedi won the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat on a Trinamool ticket and became health and family welfare minister in Manmohan Singh's government.
After Mamata vacated the railways portfolio following Trinamool's 2011 West Bengal Assembly victory, he took over the ministry, only to be removed from the post later.
He stood again from Barrackpore in 2019 under Trinamool but lost to BJP's Arjun Singh, after which the party sent him back to the Rajya Sabha.
Relations with Trinamool soured soon after. He resigned from the party on Feb 12, 2021 and joined the BJP on Mar 6 that year.
