New Delhi, September 16: Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman received two separate invitations from India, one for a bilateral visit and another to attend the BRICS Summit in New Delhi as chair of BIMSTEC, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India had invited Rahman for a bilateral visit after he became prime minister. A separate invitation was later extended for the BRICS Summit, where he was invited in his capacity as the current chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
Rahman did not attend the BRICS Summit hosted in New Delhi last week. Jaiswal said India had not yet received any response from Bangladesh regarding the proposed bilateral visit.
“On the visit of the Prime Minister, we have not heard anything,” Jaiswal said, adding that India would provide an update when there was new information.
The clarification comes after Bangladesh's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir said Rahman had not been invited to the BRICS Summit in his capacity as Bangladesh’s prime minister. According to the Bangladeshi position, the invitation was extended to the BIMSTEC chair.
India’s explanation is that Rahman was invited to the BRICS outreach session specifically in his capacity as BIMSTEC chair. BIMSTEC includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Rahman became Bangladesh’s prime minister in February 2026 and has not yet made an official bilateral visit to India. Dhaka has indicated that it wants to develop a new working relationship with New Delhi through direct bilateral engagement.
Bangladesh had earlier said that a visit by Rahman would take place once both sides agreed on a mutually acceptable schedule. A proposed visit expected in August was postponed.
The issue comes as India-Bangladesh relations remain under close diplomatic attention. The two countries have several areas of bilateral interest, including trade, connectivity, border management, water resources and regional cooperation.
Rahman’s next major international engagement is expected to be the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. He is scheduled to travel to the United States on September 21. He is also expected to discuss Bangladesh’s priorities and the Rohingya refugee crisis during the UNGA meetings.
For now, the timing of Rahman’s first bilateral visit to India remains undecided, with New Delhi saying it is awaiting a response from Dhaka.
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