PM Tarique Rahman to skip BRICS summit in India

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will not attend the BRICS summit in India next week, Foreign Affairs State Minister Humayun Kabir said on Thursday, citing Dhaka's dissatisfaction with the manner in which the invitation was extended.

Speaking to reporters after an international conference on the Rohingya issue at the Foreign Service Academy, Kabir clarified that Rahman had been invited to the BRICS outreach session specifically in his capacity as BIMSTEC chair, rather than as Bangladesh's prime minister—a distinction Dhaka evidently regards as significant. He added, nevertheless, that Rahman could undertake a bilateral visit to India should a more conducive diplomatic environment subsequently be created.

The 18th BRICS Summit is scheduled to take place in New Delhi on September 12-13, hosted by India. Although Bangladesh is not itself a BRICS member, New Delhi had extended an invitation to Rahman for the outreach session in his capacity as the current BIMSTEC chair; Dhaka, however, has additionally called for tangible progress on the extradition of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the handover of suspects in the killing of Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi before it will consider a bilateral visit.

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Taken together, these preconditions suggest that the prospects for a near-term thaw in Dhaka-New Delhi relations remain decidedly uncertain, with both the extradition question and the manner of any future invitation likely to continue shaping the trajectory of bilateral engagement well beyond this week's summit.