In a rare gesture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman as a special guest to the 18th BRICS Summit, which is scheduled to be held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi in September this year. Official sources in the Government of India have confirmed that the invitation has already been conveyed to the Government of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is not a member of BRICS, nor does it have observer status. The summit is scheduled to take place on September 12-13 this year. India is the current chair of BRICS.
According to official sources, since this is a leaders’ summit, there is a strong possibility that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will travel to New Delhi to attend. If the Bangladesh prime minister comes, it will be his first visit to India since assuming office in Bangladesh.
Following the general election in Bangladesh last February, Modi was the first to invite the newly elected prime minister of Bangladesh to India. Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman came to India last April, when a possible visit by the Prime Minister, Tarique Rahman, was discussed. But the Bangladesh PM chose to visit China via Malaysia to prove a point of making a clear departure from his predecessor, Sheikh Hasina, who had chosen India first and then China.
Presently, relations between India and Bangladesh are not warm enough. Nevertheless, India has chosen to extend every possible gesture of cooperation without any reciprocity.
It is clear that if Tarique visits India, then Prime Minister Modi is expected to hold bilateral talks with him in an effort to resume ties for the benefit of the people of both countries.
India has assumed the BRICS presidency for 2026 from Brazil. The theme of the summit is “Building Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainable Development”.
BRICS currently has 11 member countries. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to attend the summit. Although Iran is a new member of BRICS, it is not clear who will represent the country.
Leaders from Brazil, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia are expected to participate. Among these high dignitaries, India has offered a high-table place to its nearest neighbour, Bangladesh.
Earlier, India invited former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the G20 Summit and Chief Adviser of the Interim Government Muhammad Yunus to the Voice of the Global South Summit. The upcoming BRICS Summit could serve as a platform to foster a new phase in India-Bangladesh bilateral relations.
