Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman said Tarique Rahman was not directly invited to the BRICS Summit
India has separately invited Rahman to visit New Delhi and to attend the BRICS outreach session in his capacity as BIMSTEC chair
Dhaka has yet to decide whether the prime minister will travel to India for either engagement
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman has said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was not invited to the BRICS Summit in India, ruling out speculation that the multilateral meeting could lead to a visit by the Bangladeshi leader.
Rahman made the remarks while discussing the possibility of Tarique Rahman travelling to New Delhi for the 18th BRICS Summit, scheduled for September 12–13. He said Bangladesh had not yet taken a decision on the prime minister’s participation and rejected the characterisation of the invitation as one extended by BRICS itself.
“First of all, I am not a fortune-teller. Secondly, the prime minister was not invited to BRICS. He was invited as the chair of BIMSTEC,” the foreign minister said, according to local media reports.
Two Invitations
The comments concern two separate invitations from India.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), India has invited Tarique Rahman to visit New Delhi, while the BRICS outreach invitation was extended in his capacity as the current chair of BIMSTEC.
India’s position was clarified earlier by Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. At a briefing on August 11, Jaiswal said India had separately invited the Bangladeshi prime minister to visit India after he assumed office and had also invited him, as BIMSTEC chair, to attend the outreach session of the BRICS Summit.
Jaiswal said the latter invitation followed the standard practice used for BRICS outreach sessions, with heads of regional organisations invited in a similar capacity.
The distinction means an appearance by Tarique Rahman in New Delhi would not necessarily amount to Bangladesh participating in the BRICS grouping itself.
Will Rahman Visit India?
Bangladesh has not confirmed whether Tarique Rahman will travel to India for the summit.
Khalilur Rahman said Dhaka had not taken a final decision. He also confirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had previously sent a letter to Tarique Rahman, delivered when the new government took office, which constituted a separate invitation for a bilateral visit.
The uncertainty over the trip comes at a sensitive point in India-Bangladesh relations following the change of government in Dhaka.
Tarique Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) returned to power earlier this year after the political upheaval that led to Sheikh Hasina’s removal from office. Hasina remains in India, while Bangladesh has sought her extradition.
India-Bangladesh Engagement
The Indian government has continued to distinguish its bilateral engagement with Bangladesh from the question of Tarique Rahman’s possible participation in the BRICS outreach session.
According to the MEA, the separate invitation to visit India is intended to facilitate bilateral engagement. The BIMSTEC invitation, meanwhile, is linked to Bangladesh’s position as chair of the regional grouping.
For Dhaka, the distinction is politically significant. A bilateral visit would focus directly on India-Bangladesh ties, while participation in a BRICS outreach programme would place the Bangladeshi leader in a wider multilateral setting.
For now, Bangladesh has not confirmed whether Tarique Rahman will accept either opportunity, leaving his proposed India visit unresolved ahead of the September BRICS Summit.
