Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s first visit to India cannot be a multilateral visit, he says

UNB

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir on Thursday said there is scope for Bangladesh to send a government representative to the BRICS Summit, as Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was not invited to the summit and the invitation was instead extended to the BIMSTEC Chair.

“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?” he told reporters ruling out the possibility of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman attending the BRICS Summit.

Responding to a question at the Foreign Service Academy, Kobir said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s first visit to India cannot be a multilateral visit.

He said the government is working on arranging a bilateral visit to India when the timing is conducive.

In April 2025, Bangladesh assumed the chairmanship of the regional grouping – Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) – for the next two years, reaffirming its commitment to advancing regional cooperation and development.

BIMSTEC consists of seven member countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

India confirmed that an invitation was extended to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to attend the BRICS Summit as the BIMSTEC Chair, as a separate bilateral invitation has been in place since February this year.

BRICS member States and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres will attend the 18th BRICS Summit to be held in New Delhi, India, on September 12-13.

The United Nations India confirmed his participation in a post on its verified Facebook page on Wednesday.

As BRICS Chair 2026, India will be hosting the 18th BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.

The Summit will bring together leaders of BRICS member and partner countries as well as outreach invitees.

India’s BRICS Chairship is guided by the theme: “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, reflecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a people-centric approach rooted in the spirit of “Humanity First.”

In addition to these areas, the leaders will exchange views on strengthening intra-BRICS cooperation on common priorities and share perspectives on global and regional matters of mutual importance.

Under India’s Chairship this year, over 350 meetings and high-level engagements have been held in over 25 cities across India to further strengthen the BRICS strategic partnership across three fundamental pillars: political and security, economic and financial, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges, said the host country.

Through these engagements, and business-to-business and people-to-people initiatives, India’s BRICS Chairship has contributed to advancing BRICS cooperation through practical and development-oriented outcomes.

India is a founding member of BRICS, and has previously held its Chairship three times in 2012, 2016 and 2021. India assumed its fourth BRICS Chairship on 1 January 2026.

The year 2026 also marks a significant milestone as BRICS completes 20 years since its establishment.