Bangladesh just dropped an official invite to PM Modi for Tarique Rahman’s big swearing-in ceremony coming up on February 17 in Dhaka. Actually stepping up as the new Prime Minister after his Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) absolutely smashed the recent elections – like, they grabbed a massive two-thirds majority, over 200 seats. This is their first real shot at power since that huge 2024 uprising kicked out Sheikh Hasina.
Tarique – he’s the BNP chairman, son of the late Khaleda Zia – spent something like 17 years chilling in exile in London. Came back just a couple months ago, and boom, now he’s about to run the show. The oath-taking’s occurrence at the South Plaza of the National Parliament, and they’ve summon leaders from 13 countries total: us (India), China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, UAE, Qatar, plus the usual South Asian crew like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan. It’s their classic “friends to all, malice to none” move – basically saying, “Hey world, we’re back and ready to deal with everyone, no screenplay.”
But here’s the thing – Modi’s probably gonna politely pass on showing up in person. His plate is overflowing that day. He’s got French President Emmanuel Macron landing in Mumbai on the 16th, and they’re doing full bilateral talks on the 17th – kicking off this India-France Year of Innovation, chatting defense deals, trade, tech, the works. Then he jets straight to Delhi to chair that massive AI Impact Summit (it’s running February 16-20). This summit’s a big deal – first major global AI event hosted in the Global South, with tons of world leaders, tech CEOs, experts all piling into Bharat Mandapam to figure out responsible AI for growth, people, and the planet. Macron’s even popping in for parts of it in Delhi.
So squeezing in a quick trip to Dhaka the same day? Logistically, no chance. Word is India will send someone solid instead – could be a cabinet minister, maybe Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, or our External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar – to keep the vibes respectful and show face.
The invite’s timing is kinda loaded too. Ties between India and Bangladesh have been a bit bumpy since Hasina bounced (she’s here in India now, right?). But the new BNP crew is all about resetting – Modi already sent a congrats message post-results, which they loved, and Tarique’s been talking up wanting good relations, stability, trade, security, connectivity, all that good stuff. Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif is apparently planning to go, so there might be some interesting regional side-eye happening.
Bottom line: Modi’s schedule is king, so expect a senior rep from our side rather than the PM himself. Still, the fact they invited him at all? It’s a pretty clear positive signal – the new folks in Dhaka really want to keep that door wide open with India.
Sources:
The Hindu
NDTV
India Today
Times of India
Ministry of External Affairs
Al Jazeera
BBC
Reuters
