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Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will not attend the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13 due to “certain context and circumstances”, Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Riaz Hamidullah has said.
Speaking at the India Today BRICS Roundtable on Thursday, Hamidullah said the decision should be viewed in the context of Bangladesh’s recent political transition.
“It’s been 6.5 months. We now have a democratically elected dispensation in Bangladesh. There’s a certain context and circumstances which actually led to this decision for the PM not being able to come and join. That’s the simplest of answers,” he said.
Asked whether it had been difficult for diplomats to work towards Rahman’s participation in the summit, Hamidullah replied, “That’s why diplomats are known as strange animals.”
Bangladesh has maintained that India’s invitation to Rahman was made in his capacity as chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), rather than specifically as Bangladesh’s prime minister.
India has said Rahman was invited to the BRICS outreach session because Bangladesh currently chairs BIMSTEC. New Delhi had also extended a separate invitation for a bilateral visit.
The envoy also stressed the importance of “dignity, mutual trust and respect” in India-Bangladesh relations.
“If you hear the word dignity, mutual trust, respect and aspirations of people are important. If these are not addressed and the sense of Bangladesh’s demography is not understood, it would become difficult for any country to move,” he said.
His comments came amid strained ties between Dhaka and New Delhi, particularly over Bangladesh’s demand for the extradition of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been living in India since leaving Bangladesh in August 2024.
On Bangladesh’s interest in joining BRICS, Hamidullah said Dhaka was “absolutely open” to regional and subregional cooperation.
He said Bangladesh remained committed to platforms including SAARC, BIMSTEC and the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) initiative.
Describing the relationship between BIMSTEC and BRICS as one of “cooperative competition”, the envoy said the two groupings had both complementarities and differences.
He also said regional organisations should build on their respective strengths and create opportunities for their people, stressing that “aspiration” was a key element in India-Bangladesh relations.
