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India has accorded cabinet minister status to its new High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, underlining the importance New Delhi places on rebuilding ties with Dhaka as both countries seek to stabilise their relationship, people familiar with the matter said.
Trivedi is the first political appointee to serve as India’s envoy to Bangladesh in nearly five decades. A notification issued by the Union Home Ministry on Wednesday stated that he “has been assigned the equivalent status of Union Cabinet Minister in the Table of Precedence.”
Although political appointees serving as ambassadors have occasionally been granted cabinet minister status in the past, such instances have been rare in recent decades. Former Congress leader Siddhartha Shankar Ray, for example, held cabinet rank while serving as India’s ambassador to the United States between 1992 and 1996. A few former Union ministers have also received the same distinction after being appointed as envoys.
Officials clarified that the status granted to Trivedi is a personal distinction that applies only to ceremonial and protocol matters. It does not alter the official Table of Precedence, which determines the order of dignitaries at state functions.
However, the move is expected to elevate Trivedi’s stature, signalling that he enjoys direct access to India’s top leadership. It is also intended to enable him to engage more effectively with Bangladesh’s senior political leadership, rather than primarily dealing with officials in the country’s foreign ministry.
The appointment comes at a delicate moment in India-Bangladesh relations. Bilateral ties reached their lowest point after the collapse of Sheikh Hasina’s government following student-led protests in August 2024, paving the way for an interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus.
Relations appeared to improve after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secured victory in the February general election. India made a series of diplomatic outreach efforts, including sending Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
Further progress followed Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman’s visit to India in April, during which he met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. The two sides agreed to revive existing dialogue mechanisms while expanding cooperation in trade and energy.
Despite those efforts, recent developments have once again strained the relationship. The ongoing election campaigns in Assam and West Bengal, political rhetoric surrounding illegal migration from Bangladesh, comments made by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and interviews by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from India criticising the BNP-led government have all complicated attempts to restore normalcy, the people said.
Trivedi, who entered Bangladesh through a land border crossing on June 12, is expected to begin his diplomatic outreach in earnest after presenting his credentials to Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin in Dhaka on Thursday.
One of his first major decisions after taking charge was to announce the resumption of normal visa services in Bangladesh, which had been suspended during the violent protests in 2024. Tourist visa applications will once again be accepted from June 28.
