Dhaka: Despite the visible tensions between the two countries, Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s long-awaited visit to India is likely to take place very soon, with Dhaka viewing the visit as strategically important to restoring momentum in bilateral relations and addressing a range of trade and energy issues.Relations between the two countries deteriorated after ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s press conference in Delhi. Even so, Bangladesh is still weighing the visit, since engagement with India is seen as critical to renewing the water-sharing agreement on the Ganges, which is nearing its expiry, a senior official of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told The Wire.India has been strongly pushing for a bilateral meeting between Rahman and Prime Minister Narendra Modi by August, rather than relying on a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit scheduled for September.The Wire has also confirmed, through multiple sources including foreign diplomats and officials in Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Bangladesh Prime Minister’s Office, that the visit may take place in the last week of August if no major issue arises. Foreign ministry sources said Tarique Rahman is unlikely to attend the BRICS summit and would instead prefer a bilateral visit even if it gets pushed to September.Both Dhaka and Delhi have been emphasising on a meeting between the two leaders as a way to reduce the negative political narrative that has developed on both sides and to create space for a more constructive relationship.Also read: Tarique’s India Visit Still in Play as Indian Envoy Says Modi Wants to MeetBusiness communities in both India and Bangladesh are also optimistic about Rahman’s visit, viewing the recent visit of a business delegation from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as an icebreaker.Business leaders from both sides pushed for closer ties during several high-level meetings with government officials, including the finance minister, signalling a possible improvement in bilateral engagement. The Bangladesh business community and the Indian High Commission in Dhaka were involved in facilitating the delegation’s visit.“After high-level interaction with the government, we are hopeful that the visit may happen,” a Bangladeshi business leader told The Wire while attending a reception.During a conversation with journalists on the sidelines of a reception hosted by the Indian High Commission for Bangladeshi business leaders and a visiting Indian delegation on August 18, Dinesh Trivedi said he was highly optimistic about a bilateral meeting between Rahman and Modi.“In a multilateral meeting, you mostly get photographs. In a bilateral meeting, there is a proper reception, the head of state is involved, there is a dinner, there are one-to-one discussions, deliverables, and a statement,” he said.“I said today, ‘Viksit Bharat, Mile Sur Mera Bharat.’ What more can I say?” he told journalists.“I said don’t remain stuck in the past. Let’s begin a new chapter, a golden chapter.”Asked whether he expected Rahman to make a bilateral visit, Trivedi said nothing had been finalised but that he was highly optimistic that the visit would happen soon.In his speech at the reception, Trivedi said Modi had assured him that Rahman would receive an “honourable reception” during his visit to India.Trivedi said Modi wanted Rahman’s visit to be “memorable”, adding that stronger engagement between the two leaders would ultimately benefit people and businesses in both countries.“Ultimately, the benefit will go to people and businesses. Business people all over the world have a big role to play in bridging this gap,” he said.Also read: Why Tarique Rahman Will Probably Go to DelhiDomestic political reaction to Tarique’s visitThe main opposition party, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, has remained silent on the issue of Rahman’s proposed visit. However, Nahid Islam, convener of the student-led National Citizens Party (NCP), recently warned the prime minister against visiting India before New Delhi hands over Sheikh Hasina and those accused in the cases concerning Osman Hadi and the July killings to Bangladesh.“If they [the BNP government] compromise with India and visit that country, people will conclude that Tarique Rahman is not the bearer of the nationalist politics pursued by Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia,” he said, while speaking as chief guest at a rally organised by the NCP’s Dhaka South unit on August 14 on Shaheed Faruk Road in Jatrabari.Nahid said the country’s sovereignty, democracy and justice system had been attacked on August 5 this year, when Hasina spoke at a programme in Delhi. “But this government could do nothing other than issuing statements.”“Unless the government ensures accountability for July killings, people of this country will never accept Tarique Rahman’s visit to India,” he said.Two days after Nahid’s remarks, AKM Shahidul Karim, spokesperson for Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on August 16 that Bangladesh was seeking a “propitious environment” for Rahman’s bilateral visit to India.He said officials from Bangladesh and India had been in contact for several weeks over the possibility of a bilateral visit by Rahman.Why Tarique’s India visit mattersSpeaking to The Wire, M. Humayun Kabir, president of the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) and a former Bangladeshi ambassador to the United States, said Bangladesh-India relations should be viewed through the post-July-August 2024 lens, based on mutual respect, trust, dignity and sovereign equality.Bangladesh is ready to engage with India, he said, but New Delhi must also create a conducive environment for dialogue and normalisation.Relations remain stalled despite expectations that they would improve after the formation of Bangladesh’s new government, Kabir said. Border killings and alleged push-ins have further deepened public concerns about India’s sensitivity to Bangladesh’s interests.India’s invitation to Rahman to attend the BRICS summit in Delhi, along with Modi’s earlier invitation for him to visit India, indicates New Delhi’s interest in direct engagement, he said. The recent meeting between the Indian high commissioner and Rahman also suggests that both sides see high-level dialogue as a way to address outstanding issues.The two countries are deeply interconnected by geography, history and mutual dependence, Kabir said. Water-sharing remains a major priority. Of the 54 transboundary rivers between the two countries, only the Ganges is governed by a water-sharing treaty, and the 1996 agreement is nearing expiry. Renewing or improving the agreement would benefit both countries and could be facilitated by greater political trust.At the same time, Bangladesh needs stronger domestic coordination. Effective engagement with India, China, the United States or any other major power requires political, bureaucratic and societal cohesion. The principle of “Bangladesh First” therefore demands that political leaders, officials, academics, intellectuals and the media work from a broadly coordinated national position, he said.In this context, a visit by Rahman to India would be strategically important, rather than merely symbolic. It could restore momentum in bilateral ties and provide an opportunity to address unresolved political, economic, security and people-to-people issues. Prolonged tension serves neither country’s interests, and a new chapter should be built on mutual respect, trust and sovereign equality, he added.