The formal credential ceremony for Riaz Hamidullah, Bangladesh’s newly appointed High Commissioner to India, was deferred at the last minute on Thursday due to scheduling issues, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The ceremony, scheduled to be held at 4:00pm at Rashtrapati Bhavan, was postponed after the Bangladesh High Commission was informed at 1:00pm—just hours before the event.
No new date has yet been announced for the rescheduled ceremony, and MEA officials have not elaborated further on the specific reason for the deferral.
“The credential ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, which was to be held today (Thursday), has been deferred due to scheduling issues,” reads the brief statement by the External Publicity Division of India’s MEA.
Riaz Hamidullah, a seasoned diplomat from the 1995 batch of the Bangladesh Foreign Service, was appointed High Commissioner to India in February 2025 and arrived in New Delhi in early April.
He succeeds Mustafizur Rahman, who held the position until October 2024. The role had remained vacant since Rahman’s departure, creating a diplomatic void during a sensitive period in bilateral relations.
The presentation of credentials is a ceremonial but significant diplomatic procedure, formally recognising a new envoy’s appointment by the host nation’s head of state. These ceremonies are typically hosted at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the presence of the president of India, currently Droupadi Murmu.
Despite the deferral, Hamidullah is now expected to present his credentials to President Murmu on Friday, according to sources familiar with the matter.
His appointment comes shortly after a high-level meeting between Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok.
Diplomatic observers suggest Hamidullah’s arrival in New Delhi, following the Yunus-Modi meeting, reflects a positive turn in bilateral relations after a period of unease.
Bangladesh and India continue to describe their relationship as a “very special partnership”, and both sides have expressed a commitment to strengthening cooperation in trade, security, connectivity, and regional integration.
As Hamidullah prepares to officially assume his duties, stakeholders in both capitals will closely watch the trajectory of Dhaka–Delhi ties under his tenure.