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No Dhaka representation at BRICS Summit as Bangladesh rules out Rahman’s visit
With Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman, who recently took over as the President of the United Nations General Assembly, also away, the country's representation at the summit hosted by New De
FULL ARTICLE · The Indian Express World
6 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Sep 11, 2026 06:21 AM IST
Tarique Rahman became the Prime Minister of Bangladesh on February 17 this year. (AP file photo)
Bangladesh Thursday ruled out Prime Minister Tarique Rahman travelling to India this week for the BRICS Summit, saying he was not invited in his capacity as Bangladesh’s prime minister. India, however, has said it invited Rahman to the summit’s outreach session as the current chair of BIMSTEC.
India, which currently holds the BRICS chair, is scheduled to host the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13. The summit will bring together leaders from BRICS member and partner countries as well as outreach invitees.
With Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman, who recently took over as the President of the United Nations General Assembly, also away, the country’s representation at the summit hosted by New Delhi remains uncertain.
It was expected that newly elected Bangladesh President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir might attend the summit, but there is no official word yet, with less than two days left for the summit to begin.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Delhi has already extended an invitation to Rahman for a stand-alone bilateral visit after he assumed office in February; it has also extended an invitation to the Bangladesh PM to attend the BRICS summit as BIMSTEC chair.
“The invitation has been extended as per the standard practice being followed in BRICS for the outreach sessions. Other heads of regional groups have also been invited in a similar manner,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to a question.
On Thursday, Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir ruled out Rahman’s visit, adding that there is scope for Bangladesh to send a government representative to the Summit, as per The Daily Star. He said Prime Minister Rahman was not invited to the summit and the invitation was extended to the BIMSTEC Chair. Bangladesh presently holds the chair of BIMSTEC, the seven-nation South and East Asian grouping.
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“How shall we go? Has anyone from the Bangladesh government been invited? Our prime minister was not invited. Who told you that our prime minister was invited? The BIMSTEC Chair was invited. Then why are you asking this question?” Kobir said, posing a series of questions when asked whether Rahman would attend the summit.
While India has invited Rahman to the BRICS Summit as the chairman of BIMSTEC, a separate bilateral invitation for him to visit India has also been in place since February.
Dhaka prioritises bilateral India visit
Kobir indicated that Rahman’s first visit to India was expected to be a bilateral visit rather than one linked to a multilateral event.
“We are placing greater emphasis on bilateral visits and discussions,” he told reporters.
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“When the environment is favourable, and mutual respect is maintained, bilateral visits will take place. There is no need to rush,” Kobir said. He added that Bangladesh was working towards arranging a bilateral visit to India when the timing was conducive.
New Delhi and Dhaka have been in touch to work out suitable dates for Rahman’s visit, and there were talks of the Bangladesh PM making a short visit to New Delhi in late August. However, Dhaka put a precondition that a “propitious environment needs to be created” for it, a reference to the presence of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in India and her public statements made from New Delhi on August 5.
Rashtrapati Bhavan had announced the cancellation of the Change of Guard ceremony on August 21 “due to the full rehearsal for the ceremonial welcome” of the Bangladesh Prime Minister, and then withdrew the communique an hour later. Both New Delhi and Dhaka have not confirmed any dates for the visit.
Kobir also said Dhaka would handle issues involving Bangladesh’s national interests with seriousness and efficiency. “Wherever our national interest is involved, we will act with full gravity and efficiency,” Kobir said when asked about the approaching expiry of the 30-year Ganges Water Sharing Treaty.
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The India-Bangladesh Ganges Water Treaty, signed in 1996 to regulate the dry-season sharing of the river’s waters, is scheduled to expire in December.
India-Bangladesh trade discussions continue
On bilateral trade, Kabir said discussions between India and Bangladesh were continuing in a positive manner. However, he said there was no “fresh development available for announcement at present”.
India had sent Lok Sabha Speaker Om Prakash Birla to Bangladesh on February 17 to attend the inauguration of Tarique Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party government following the February 12 general elections.
Birla also carried a letter from the Indian prime minister congratulating Rahman and inviting him to India along with his wife and only daughter.
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Ties between the two countries, strained following the August 2024 ouster of Hasina, who sought refuge in India, had been looking up after Rahman took charge of Bangladesh in February. But Hasina’s public interaction in New Delhi via an audio link on August 5 — marking two years of her ouster — angered Dhaka, which has been seeking her extradition to Bangladesh where she faces the death sentence. It also cast a shadow over Rahman’s visit to India.
The request for Hasina’s extradition was first moved by the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus in 2024, and has been reiterated by the BNP government. While New Delhi has stated that the extradition request is “being examined”, the Indian side has been emphasising a forward-looking relationship built on “mutuality of interests and reciprocity”.
Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More
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