Bangladesh home minister to skip BIMSTEC meet in India amid strained ties

Dhaka: Bangladesh 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.

Home Affairs Senior Secretary Manzur Morshed Chowdhury is leading the Bangladesh delegation at the two-day meeting, which begins on Monday with senior officials from the home and interior ministries of member states, Bangla Tribune reported.

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Home ministers of the member states are scheduled to meet on Tuesday.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional grouping comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

It aims at promoting economic and technical cooperation among countries bordering the Bay of Bengal and in its neighbourhood.

Bangladesh assumed the BIMSTEC chairmanship in April 2025.

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The inaugural meeting of the BIMSTEC home ministers is intended to strengthen security cooperation among the member states across South and Southeast Asia and the Bay of Bengal region.

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. 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.

According to a report in Dhaka Tribune, 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.

The meeting will bring together representatives of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand to review regional security cooperation and explore ways to strengthen coordination in law enforcement, intelligence sharing and efforts to combat terrorism and transnational crime.

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.

Hasina's presence in India has emerged as one of the major contentious issues between the two countries.

Dhaka has been seeking her extradition, while India maintains that the extradition request is under examination in accordance with applicable law and established legal procedures.

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.

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.