Former Union minister Dinesh Trivedi expected to be India’s next High Commissioner to Bangladesh

Dinesh Trivedi is likely to be appointed India’s next High Commissioner to Bangladesh amid efforts to reset bilateral ties. Current envoy Pranay Verma has been named ambassador to Belgium and the EU, though no official announcement has been made yet

New Delhi: Dinesh Trivedi, a former Union minister and veteran politician from West Bengal, is expected to be appointed India’s next High Commissioner to Bangladesh, sources said on Sunday. Pranay Verma, who has been serving as India’s High Commissioner in Dhaka, was on Friday named as the next ambassador to Belgium and the European Union.

It is learnt that New Delhi has been considering appointing a political figure to the key diplomatic post in Dhaka amid efforts to reset bilateral ties after the new Bangladesh Nationalist Party government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was formed in February.

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The relations between India and Bangladesh witnessed a major downturn after the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus came to power following the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024.

Trivedi, 75, served as the railway minister and Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare during the UPA rule. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal and was a Lok Sabha MP from Barrackpore constituency in the state. He quit the Trinamool Congress in February 2021 and joined the BJP.

The sources said Trivedi is likely to be appointed as the High Commissioner in Dhaka, a key position, in view of his extensive experience. However, there was no formal announcement yet. Verma, a 1994-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, had assumed charge as the High Commissioner in Dhaka on September 21, 2022.