Dhaka-Delhi visa services resume after suspension of reciprocal visits

The Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi has resumed visa services after recently suspending reciprocal visits due to diplomatic tensions and security concerns.

On Friday (February 20), India Today reported that Bangladesh visas have started being issued to Indian citizens there. This development in diplomatic relations between the two countries came three days after the BNP-led government came to power.

Quoting the Bangladesh High Commission, India Today wrote that all types of visa services for Indians started from Friday morning.

Earlier on Thursday, India said that they would soon resume all types of visa services for Bangladeshis.

What happened between the two countries

Last December, when bilateral diplomatic relations deteriorated following the death of Inqilab Manch leader Sharif Osman Hadi, both countries suspended visa services. On the night of Hadi's death, protests were held in front of the Indian Assistant High Commission office in Chittagong and stones were thrown at the commission. Following this incident, the operations of the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) in Chittagong were suspended from December 21 until further notice.

The next day, Bangladesh announced the suspension of visa and consular services from its missions in Delhi and Agartala as a countermeasure.

However, diplomatic relations between the two countries continued to improve after the elections. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Tarique Rahman in a statement on the morning of February 13 before the full results of the 13th parliamentary elections were announced.

Then, after the full results were announced, he spoke to Tarique on the phone in the afternoon. In that phone call, he congratulated him and expressed his support for his work.

On the other hand, Dhaka invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the swearing-in ceremony of the new government. However, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs informed that he would not be able to attend the swearing-in ceremony due to the 'AI Impact Summit'. However, India was represented at the swearing-in ceremony by the country's Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla instead of Modi.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Indian Assistant High Commissioner in Sylhet Aniruddha Das said that all types of Indian visa processes will soon return to normal.