In a significant diplomatic outreach to its immediate neighbours, Indian envoys in Bangladesh and Nepal on Monday separately called on the Prime Ministers of the two countries, conveying Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s greetings and reaffirming New Delhi’s commitment to strengthening bilateral ties.Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi paid a courtesy call on Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, while Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava met Prime Minister Balendra Shah in Kathmandu the same day. The Dhaka engagement assumes significance as India and Bangladesh seek to move beyond recent strains and put bilateral ties on a “positive, constructive and forward-looking” track following the political upheaval in Bangladesh in 2024 and the subsequent return to an elected government.During his meeting with Rahman, Trivedi conveyed Modi’s greetings and expressed India’s intent to work with the Bangladesh government and people to further strengthen bilateral relations with a people-centric approach. The two sides exchanged views on matters of mutual interest and discussed avenues for advancing ties.Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Trivedi struck an optimistic note, saying India was “looking forward” and that there was no issue between the two countries that could not be resolved. “We are positive that if the two leaders meet, there will be discussion. There will be issues in democracies. It’s not democracy if there is no issue. But there is only one people’s issue, which is good relations. It’s a win-win situation if there is a good relationship,” he said.Describing his first meeting with Rahman, Trivedi said he was “very delighted” and had not felt that he was meeting him for the first time. He described the Bangladesh PM as “very humble” and “on the ground”, saying the focus should be on strengthening people-to-people relations. “I am not a diplomat. It’s like people’s representative to people’s representative,” he said.The envoy’s remarks came amid several outstanding issues between the two neighbours. Bangladesh has been seeking the extradition of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is currently in India, and has reiterated its request for the return of those accused in the killing of Osman Hadi.New Delhi last week sought to defuse a diplomatic row triggered by Hasina’s virtual interaction with the media from India, making it clear that the Indian Government had neither organised nor endorsed the event.Trivedi declined to comment on whether Rahman would attend the 18th BRICS Summit outreach session in New Delhi on September 12-13. India had confirmed on August 4 that an invitation was extended to Rahman in his capacity as BIMSTEC Chair. A separate bilateral invitation to visit India has been in place since February.Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman said no decision had yet been taken on accepting either invitation. He said Bangladesh had received two invitations from India—one from Modi for a bilateral visit and another addressed to the BIMSTEC Chair for the BRICS summit.