Dhaka, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed will skip the first-ever meeting of home ministers of the BIMSTEC grouping in New Delhi, with a delegation led by a senior bureaucrat set to represent Dhaka amid strained ties between India and Bangladesh.
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation is a regional grouping comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Hasina later fled to India. Last month, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had skipped the outreach session of the BRICS summit in New Delhi despite an invitation from the Indian government, which had invited him in his capacity as BIMSTEC chair. Though the report did not specify the reason for Ahmed’s absence, the decision comes amid a downturn in India-Bangladesh ties following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024.
The Bangladesh delegation led by Chowdhury will also include AKM Shahidul Karim, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dealing with SAARC, BIMSTEC and other priority issues; and Rebecca Khan, joint secretary, according to a report in Dhaka Tribune. India has maintained that it had no role in the media event concerning Hasina and it does not endorse anything said at the forum about the Bangladesh government.
Bhutan’s home minister, Myanmar’s union minister for home affairs, Nepal’s home minister, Sri Lanka’s minister for public security and parliamentary affairs, and Thailand’s deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council are expected to attend Tuesday’s meeting, the UNB news agency reported.
The Bangladesh foreign ministry in August had said the atmosphere for Rahman’s visit has been “vitiated” by Hasina’s virtual press interaction in New Delhi held that month.
