Amid continued uncertainty over Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s possible visit to India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured that Rahman would receive an “honourable reception” whenever he visits the country.India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi said Modi told him that he and Rahman “need to meet” and asked him to convey an assurance to the Bangladesh Prime Minister about the reception he would receive in India.The envoy’s remarks on Tuesday came as uncertainty looms over Rahman’s proposed visit to New Delhi for the BRICS summit on September 12-13 amid fresh strains in bilateral ties over Dhaka’s demand for the extradition of deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Speaking at a business reception hosted by the High Commission of India in Dhaka, Trivedi said he met Rahman before travelling to Delhi, where he subsequently met Modi.“He (PM Modi) just told me one thing: ‘We (Modi and Rahman) need to meet and you can tell them on my behalf that you have the Prime Minister of India’s assurance that when the honourable Prime Minister of Bangladesh visits India, he will have such an honourable reception as he deserves, as any such Prime Minister would deserve,” Trivedi said.“And it would be a memorable visit which would be remembered,” he quoted Modi as saying.Modi’s message assumes significance amid the looming uncertainty over Rahman’s first visit to India and differences between New Delhi and Dhaka over Bangladesh’s demand for Hasina’s extradition.The two sides are yet to indicate whether Rahman’s engagement in India would be around the BRICS Summit or there would be a separate bilateral visit or whether there would be no visit at all.The assurance from Modi signals India’s readiness to defuse ongoing tensions and engage Rahman at the highest level as the two countries seek to bridge differences and rebuild bilateral ties.Trivedi said the eventual benefits of such an engagement would accrue to the people of the two countries, while businesses could also play an important role in narrowing the gap.“Ultimately, the benefit will go to the people and business people all over the world have a big role to play in bridging this gap,” he said.The envoy’s remarks came on the same day when the Ministry of External Affairs refused to be drawn into a fresh debate over Hasina’s August 5 press interaction in New Delhi, saying India’s position on the matter “needs no repetition”.Dhaka had recently said the episode had “vitiated” weeks of efforts to facilitate Rahman’s proposed India visit and had renewed its demand for Hasina’s extradition.Against this backdrop, Trivedi’s remarks appeared aimed at keeping the larger India-Bangladesh relationship separate from contentious issues and stressing the need for direct political engagement.“There are issues. There is no doubt about it,” Trivedi said, stressing that differences were natural in any vibrant democracy.“These concerns can only be mitigated once you meet. And the most important thing as far as I am concerned is that we need to meet,” he added.Trivedi said India had been working closely with Bangladesh in recent weeks and “deeply understands” the concerns of the Bangladeshi people. “But this is a partnership of equals,” he said.Recalling Modi’s early outreach to Rahman after his electoral victory, Trivedi said the Indian Prime Minister was the first leader to congratulate him and had also invited him to India.Describing Rahman as a “people’s person”, Trivedi said both Modi and Rahman were “people’s Prime Ministers” and expressed confidence that a meeting between them could help address outstanding differences.The High Commissioner also urged the two countries to look beyond their differences and focus on shared development goals, particularly the aspirations of their young populations.“We don’t only share a border. We share dreams. We share aspirations,” he said, adding that Bangladesh’s development goals and India’s ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision were broadly aligned.