Bangladesh appoints envoy to India after 8 months

Bangladesh appointed an envoy to India after its High Commissioner Riaz Hamidullah presented his credentials to President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday. It was in October last year that the Bangladesh interim government had called back its High Commissioner in New Delhi.

Prior to his India posting, Hamidullah represented his country in the Netherlands. “In presenting credentials to Honourabe India President in Delhi, underlined uniquely diverse ties that bind people in Bangladesh & India, beyond trade. So much to explore, tap and build on, to redeem a vision of 'shared prosperity',” Hamidullah shared in his post on X.

In October last year, following the downfall of Sheikh Hasina-led government in Bangladesh, the country’s government transferred Mostafizur Rahman, the previous High Commissioner of Bangladesh back to Dhaka.

His transfer was part of a move that included the withdrawal of envoys from Brussels, Canberra, Lisbon, and the permanent mission of Bangladesh in the Union Nations in New York.

Rahman was asked by the interim government to return “onotibilombe”(without delay) to Dhaka. However, Bangladesh didn’t send the new High Commissioner for nearly eight months to India.

India and Bangladesh follow normal diplomatic formalities when it comes to appointments in each other’s missions by suggesting a name for the post of High Commissioner, which is subject to clearance from the host country.