New Delhi [India], April 27 (ANI): Former Union minister and BJP leader Dinesh Trivedi has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Monday.

According to the Ministry, Trivedi is expected to take up the assignment 'shortly'.

Trivedi, 75, will replace diplomat Pranay Verma, who is set to move to Brussels as India's ambassador to the European Union.

The appointment of Trivedi comes as India and Bangladesh are furthering ties in several sectors.

Trivedi has served as the former Railway Minister (2011-2012), and former Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare (2009-2011) under former PM Manmohan Singh's cabinet. He was an MP from 2009 to 2019 of the All India Trinamool Congress, representing the Lok Sabha Barrakpore constituency. He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2021.

On April 13 this year, India and Bangladesh agreed to enhance exchange visits of media delegations. The former Indian High Commisioner Pranay Verma paid a courtesy call on Minister of Information and Broadcasting of Bangladesh Zahir Uddin Swapon.

They discussed wide-ranging cooperation in the information and broadcasting domain, including engagements between media and broadcasting institutions of the two countries. They agreed to enhance exchange visits of media delegations between the two countries to strengthen people-to-people relations and promote mutual understanding.

The former High Commissioner proposed various capacity-building initiatives for journalists and media professionals under the ITEC programme of the Government of India. As part of these initiatives, a special training course for women journalists from Bangladesh will soon be organised in India, the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said in a statement. They also exchanged views on cooperation in films, including the organisation of film screenings and film festivals in each other's countries, as well as collaboration in production and post-production technological support.

The former High Commissioner reiterated India's willingness to work with the Government and people of Bangladesh to strengthen people-centric cooperation in all domains based on mutual interest and mutual benefit.

On April 8, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri met with Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman in New Delhi to discuss enhancing energy ties between the two nations, following the visiting dignitary's high-level talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar earlier in the day. In a post on X, Puri noted the high-level participation from the Bangladeshi delegation during the meeting held in New Delhi. (ANI)