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NEW DELHI, September 4 — India is still uncertain wheather Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will attend the upcoming BRICS Summit in New Delhi, or whether Dhaka will send another representative in his place.
The uncertainty was made clear on Friday when Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was asked about Bangladesh’s participation at the ministry’s regular media briefing. Jaiswal said he had no new information on whether Tarique Rahman would attend the summit.
The 18th BRICS Summit is scheduled to take place in New Delhi on September 12–13. India has invited Tarique Rahman to participate in the summit’s outreach session in his capacity as chair of BIMSTEC.
The invitation is separate from an earlier invitation extended to him for a bilateral visit to India.
Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi had reiterated the BRICS invitation during a meeting with Tarique Rahman in Dhaka on August 10.
At the time, India indicated that it wanted the Bangladeshi prime minister to attend the summit.
However, Bangladesh has yet to publicly announce whether Tarique Rahman will travel to New Delhi. Earlier reports had suggested that his participation in the BRICS outreach session was becoming unlikely.
A report citing senior Bangladeshi government sources said the possibility of his attendance had effectively diminished amid renewed tensions between Dhaka and New Delhi.
Tensions complicate possible visit
The uncertainty comes against the backdrop of strained Bangladesh-India relations following former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s virtual appearance at a press conference in New Delhi on August 5.
The development triggered strong reactions from the Bangladesh government, which has called for her return to Bangladesh and urged India to prevent political activities against Bangladesh from its territory.
The situation has also complicated plans for Tarique Rahman’s proposed bilateral visit to India.
Although New Delhi has expressed interest in welcoming him, no date for that visit has been finalised.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman earlier clarified that the BRICS invitation was extended to Tarique Rahman as BIMSTEC chair, rather than simply in his capacity as Bangladesh’s prime minister.
For now, therefore, it remains unclear whether Tarique Rahman himself will attend the BRICS outreach session or whether another Bangladeshi representative will travel to New Delhi.
With the summit only about a week away, India’s latest statement indicates that New Delhi itself has not received confirmation from Dhaka.
