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2 min readNew DelhiFeb 18, 2026 05:30 AM IST
Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman meets Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, in Dhaka on Tuesday. (@hamidullah_riaz X/ANI Photo)
Tarique Rahman, chief of the centre-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party, was sworn in Tuesday as the new Prime Minister of Bangladesh, 18 months after the overthrow of the government of Sheikh Hasina.
Rahman, 60, was administered the oath of office at a ceremony held in the South Plaza of the parliament building in Dhaka. The last time the BNP was in power, from 2001 to 2006, Rahman’s mother Khaleda Zia was Prime Minister. She died in December 2025, days after Rahman returned to the country from the UK where he was in self-exile for 17 years.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was among the dignitaries who attended the swearing-in ceremony. Representing India, Birla, in a post on X later, said he had “a constructive meeting” with Rahman. He said he handed over a personal letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveying his wishes to Rahman and inviting him to “visit India at the earliest convenience”.
“I extended warm congratulations on behalf of the people of India and reaffirmed our commitment to deepening the enduring partnership between our two neighbouring countries,” Birla said. Earlier, in another post, he said, “India stands ready to support Bangladesh’s endeavours to build a democratic, progressive and inclusive nation.”
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had a “courtesy meeting” with Shafiqur Rahman, leader of the Opposition Jamaat-e-Islami, who, according to the Indian High Commission, “expressed hope for stronger bilateral relations”.
Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More
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