New Delhi: India reached out to the full sweep of Bangladesh’s new political landscape on Tuesday (February 17), with Prime Minister Narendra Modi writing to newly sworn-in Prime Minister Tarique Rahman about working for “each other’s security” and “mutual prosperity”, while foreign secretary Vikram Misri met with the leader of opposition, Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Shafiqur Rahman.Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, who represented India at Rahman’s swearing-in in Dhaka on Tuesday evening, handed over the letter personally after the ceremony.In the letter, dated Monday, Modi said India and Bangladesh “can truly become catalysts for each other’s sustainable growth, work for each other’s security and enable mutual prosperity”. He cited shared history, cultural ties and developmental priorities as the foundation for future cooperation, and listed connectivity, trade, technology, education, energy and healthcare among areas for collaboration.He invited Rahman to visit India along with his wife Zubaida Rahman and daughter Zaima “at a mutually convenient time”.Birla, like external affairs minister S. Jaishankar in December, left without meeting outgoing interim chief adviser and Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus. Other foreign leaders, including the Maldivian president and the Bhutanese prime minister, called on Yunus while in Dhaka on Tuesday.The meeting with the Jamaat’s ameer, now appointed as leader of the opposition, was no less significant. Indian diplomats had always kept the party at arm’s length especially over its role in the 1971 Liberation war and its perceived pro-Pakistan orientation.However, contacts had been developing quietly in recent months, with the ameer himself having spoken of outreach from the Indian high commission after his bypass surgery last year. The Indian external affairs ministry later acknowledged the meeting by describing it as part of Indian diplomats’ “routinely meeting with several interlocutors”. The Indian high commission also invited the jamaat to its Republic Day celebrations, which the party attended.Misri’s short meeting with the Jamaat head, for about ten minutes or so at Bangladesh’s parliament, was the first public engagement between India and the party.The Indian high commission posted on its X account that Misri “conveyed greetings to Dr. Rahman on his new role and reaffirmed India’s enduring support to Bangladesh, underscoring the people-centric nature of the ties”, while Shafiqur Rahman “highlighted the deep civilisational bonds shared by the two countries and expressed hope for stronger bilateral relations”.The letter is the latest in a series of outreach gestures from New Delhi since it became clear that elections would be held.Jaishankar attended Khaleda Zia’s funeral in December and met Rahman. After the elections, Modi congratulated Rahman on X and called him even before the full official results were declared last Friday.Bangladesh’s new prime minister was sworn in on Tuesday after his party’s landslide win in last week’s parliamentary elections, the country’s first since the 2024 students’ uprising.Rahman, whose term will last five years, is the son of former Prime Minister Zia and former President Ziaur Rahman. He is also Bangladesh’s first male prime minister in 35 years. President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath of office, with dozens of cabinet members also being sworn in.The unexpected name in the cabinet was Khalilur Rahman, who had served as national security adviser in the outgoing interim government and will now take charge as foreign minister. His appointment drew attention as his name had not figured in the lists circulating ahead of the announcement. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) had also criticised him several times, and even asked for his resignation at least once.The BNP and its partners won 212 seats in the 350-member parliament, while an 11-party alliance led by the Jamaat won 77 seats to form the opposition. In Bangladesh, voters elect 300 MPs directly while the remaining 50 seats are reserved for women and distributed proportionately among winning parties.Rahman, 60, returned to the country in December after 17 years in self-exile in London, shortly before his mother’s death. The interim government led by Yunus oversaw the election, which was largely peaceful and widely accepted by international observers.Rahman’s main rival, the Awami League headed by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was banned from the race. From her exile in India, where she has lived since August 5, 2024, Hasina slammed the vote as unfair. At home, she has been sentenced to death on charges of crimes against humanity because of hundreds of deaths during the uprising, allegations she has denied, calling the court a “kangaroo court”.With inputs from AP.