Outgoing Envoy Pranay Verma Bids Farewell in Dhaka

Outgoing Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma and his wife Manu Verma hosted a farewell reception at India House on Saturday for members of the media and invited guests, marking the end of his diplomatic posting in Dhaka.

The evening featured informal conversations, shared memories and music, with the envoy saying the experiences in Bangladesh would remain among his most valued diplomatic assignments.

Verma, who has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Belgium and the European Union, expressed gratitude for the warmth and hospitality he received during his tenure in Bangladesh.

“Don’t say goodbye; let’s say see you again. Thank you very much for being there with us,” he said in his brief remarks.

He also performed two songs, one in Bangla and one in Hindi, adding, “I truly hope our paths will cross again, somewhere, sometime.”

Senior journalists and members of the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh were present at the event, including former Associated Press Dhaka bureau chief Farid Hossain, current AP Bureau Chief Julhas Alam, President AKM Moinuddin, and General Secretary Emrul Kayesh.

Pranay Verma is expected to leave Dhaka for Brussels in the last week of this month.

India has already announced that Dinesh K. Trivedi will succeed him as the next High Commissioner to Bangladesh.

Verma arrived in Dhaka in September 2022, having previously served as India’s Ambassador to Vietnam.

Trivedi, a former Union Minister in India, later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party after resigning from the Trinamool Congress in 2021.