New Delhi: India has yet to grant formal approval for Bangladesh’s proposal to appoint Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam as its next High Commissioner to New Delhi, more than a month after Dhaka sought clearance for the posting.
The approval, known as agrément, is required before Bangladesh can formally announce Siam’s appointment. Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a country proposing an ambassador or high commissioner must first obtain the consent of the receiving country. The receiving state is not required to give reasons if it withholds or rejects the approval.
Siam is a senior career diplomat who became Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary under the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus. He previously served as Bangladesh’s ambassador to the United States.
The issue has gained urgency because the current Bangladesh High Commissioner to India, M Riaz Hamidullah, is expected to leave New Delhi around mid-October for his next assignment as Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva.
The pending approval comes amid a period of strained relations between the two neighbours. Expectations of improved ties after Tarique Rahman became Bangladesh’s Prime Minister have weakened in recent weeks.
Rahman did not attend the BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13 despite being invited in his capacity as chair of BIMSTEC. Bangladesh also did not send another representative to the summit.
Earlier, plans for a visit by Rahman to India in August also failed to materialise. Discussions between the two sides had focused on rebuilding relations following the political upheaval in Bangladesh and the removal of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024. Hasina subsequently travelled to India, where she remains.
Despite the political differences, working-level engagement between the two countries has continued. Officials recently held a two-day Inter-Governmental Railway Meeting in Dhaka to discuss cross-border train operations. Several technical and expert-level mechanisms have also been reactivated in recent months.
India has also appointed former Union minister Dinesh Trivedi as its High Commissioner to Bangladesh. He assumed charge at the end of June, with his position carrying Cabinet-rank status.
The continued technical engagement indicates that routine bilateral cooperation remains active, even as political differences persist. The pending agrément for Siam, however, has added another sensitive issue to the India-Bangladesh relationship.
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