Tokyo, Antalya, Riyadh – and maybe Delhi

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is scheduled to make three overseas visits in October and November, travelling to Japan and Saudi Arabia for bilateral talks and to Turkey for the UN climate summit, COP31.

Officials in Dhaka, Tokyo, Ankara and Riyadh said the itinerary was still being finalised and could change as governments confirm dates and programmes.

Tarique is expected to visit Japan in the final week of October at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, for a three- to four-day trip. Senior officials from both sides have already held talks in Dhaka on arrangements. 

The visit follows a May 2025 trip to Tokyo by then Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, during which the two countries signed seven memorandums of understanding on investment, energy and technology, and agreed to send 100,000 skilled Bangladeshi workers to Japan over five years. 

Japan also pledged to use its Bay of Bengal initiative to boost investment in Bangladeshi infrastructure. Expanding Japanese investment, organising a business conference and reviewing progress on the manpower scheme are likely to feature in Tarique’s talks.

He is next expected to travel to Turkey in early November for the COP31 leaders’ summit, to be held in Antalya on 10-11 November, ahead of the full climate conference running from 9 to 20 November. 

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A diplomatic source in Ankara said the leaders’ summit is timed to build political momentum ahead of the negotiations.  State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Friday on the sidelines of the

UN General Assembly’s 81st session to discuss Bangladesh’s participation. 

Climate finance, adaptation, technology transfer and loss-and-damage support are expected to be key issues for Bangladesh at the summit.

A visit to Saudi Arabia – Tarique’s third – could follow in the second half of November, at the invitation of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, diplomatic sources in Dhaka said, with officials from both countries already discussing arrangements. 

Saudi Arabia remains Bangladesh’s largest overseas labour market, employing more than 2.8 million Bangladeshis. 

At a meeting in Dhaka last August, Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed El-Khereiji signalled interest in expanding cooperation into fisheries, food, energy, renewables, IT and artificial intelligence, while Saudi Ambassador Abdullah Jafar H Bin Abia said the next five years could be transformative for bilateral economic ties. 

Talks in Riyadh are expected to cover energy supplies, investment agreements and regional issues, including continued Saudi support on the Rohingya crisis.

Separately, Bangladesh and India are working towards a visit by Tarique to India in the third week of November, after an earlier attempt was called off, the Times of India reported, citing its sources. 

Efforts to reschedule are expected to gain pace once Bangladesh’s new High Commissioner to India, Asad Alam Siam, takes up his post in New Delhi in late October or early November. 

For Dhaka, the timing may also hinge on the unresolved issue of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s extradition. 

Tarique’s birthday greetings to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Modi’s prompt reply, are being seen as a positive sign for settling on dates.