India yet to approve Dhaka's new envoy to Delhi: Report

India has yet to give its approval for the appointment of Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam as Dhaka's next high commissioner to New Delhi.

Dhaka began the process of appointing new high commissioners and ambassadors to various foreign missions back in July. It has now been more than a month since Dhaka sought New Delhi's approval, but India has yet to respond, reports Indian media outlet ThePrint.

Without India's agrément, Dhaka cannot formally announce Siam's appointment.

Article 4 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations states that "the sending State must make certain that the agrément of the receiving State has been given" before accrediting a person as head of mission.

The convention, however, does not require the receiving state – in this case, India – to explain its reasons for withholding or rejecting agrément. The process is generally kept confidential to avoid creating a public diplomatic incident when a proposed appointment is not accepted, reports ThePrint.

Moreover, the incumbent Bangladesh High Commissioner to India, M Riaz Hamidullah, is expected to take up his new posting as Bangladesh's permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva around mid-October.

Siam was appointed to his current post by the interim government led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus last year. Before becoming foreign secretary, he served as Bangladesh's ambassador to the United States. 

The hold-up in approving Siam's posting comes amid a chill in relations between India and Bangladesh. 

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman did not attend the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on 12-13 September, despite being invited by India in his capacity as the current chairman of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec).

Dhaka also sent no representative. Hamidullah, in his current role as High Commissioner to India, did not attend the summit either, reports ThePrint.