Bangladesh has clarified that it will not send any official representative to the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi. The announcement came from Dhaka on September 10, 2026, when State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir addressed questions about Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s possible participation.
According to the minister, India had extended an invitation to Rahman solely in his capacity as the current Chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). The invitation was not issued to him as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. As a result, Bangladesh sees no basis for official government representation at the summit.
Official Position from Dhaka
Speaking to reporters, Kobir stated that the Bangladesh government had not received an invitation addressed to the Prime Minister in his governmental role. “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,” he said.
The minister further emphasised that the Prime Minister’s first visit to India should be a bilateral engagement rather than a multilateral one. He indicated that Dhaka is working on arranging a bilateral visit when the timing is considered conducive, and that greater priority is being placed on such a dedicated bilateral interaction.
India’s Clarification on the Invitation
India, which holds the BRICS chair for 2026 and is hosting the summit on September 12 and 13, had earlier explained the nature of the outreach invitations. The Ministry of External Affairs had stated that invitations were extended to the chairs of several regional organisations—including BIMSTEC, ASEAN, the African Union, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, and the Eurasian Economic Union—in line with established BRICS practice for outreach sessions.
Bangladesh is neither a full member nor a partner country of BRICS. The invitation to its leader was therefore linked specifically to the BIMSTEC chairmanship that Dhaka currently holds. India had also confirmed that a separate invitation for a bilateral visit by Prime Minister Rahman has been in place since February 2026, shortly after he assumed office.
Background of the Bilateral Invitation
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman took office on February 17, 2026, following general elections. India responded promptly by sending Lok Sabha Speaker Om Prakash Birla to attend the inauguration. Birla carried a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveying greetings and extending an invitation for Rahman, along with his wife and daughter, to visit India.
This bilateral invitation has remained open. Dhaka’s latest statements reiterate that the government continues to examine the appropriate timing for such a visit and prefers that the first high-level engagement be bilateral in nature.
Context of Regional Diplomacy
BIMSTEC is a regional organisation linking countries around the Bay of Bengal and focusing on multi-sectoral technical and economic cooperation. Bangladesh’s chairmanship of the grouping formed the formal basis for the BRICS outreach invitation. Other regional chairs have been invited on the same principle, and several have confirmed participation.
The distinction drawn by Dhaka between an invitation to the BIMSTEC Chair and one addressed to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh has become central to its decision not to attend. Officials in Dhaka have framed the matter as a question of protocol and the appropriate format for the Prime Minister’s first engagement with India.
Implications for India-Bangladesh Engagement
The decision means Bangladesh will be absent from the BRICS outreach session in New Delhi. While the summit itself brings together BRICS members and partners, the outreach component is designed to engage leaders of regional organisations and other invitees on broader issues of global and regional cooperation.
Both sides have publicly acknowledged the existence of two distinct invitations—one bilateral and one linked to the BIMSTEC role. India’s position has been that the BRICS outreach invitation follows standard practice applied to multiple regional chairs. Bangladesh’s position is that an invitation limited to the BIMSTEC chairmanship does not constitute an invitation to the government or the Prime Minister in his official national capacity, and that a bilateral visit remains the preferred first step.
The episode highlights the careful calibration currently underway in India-Bangladesh relations. Diplomatic channels remain open, and both governments have signalled continued interest in structured engagement. The emphasis from Dhaka on timing and the bilateral format suggests that high-level contact is not ruled out, but will be pursued according to Dhaka’s assessment of when conditions are suitable.
Looking Ahead
As the BRICS Summit proceeds in New Delhi without Bangladesh representation, attention is likely to remain on the separate bilateral invitation that has been outstanding since February. Dhaka has indicated that work continues on arranging such a visit. For its part, India has maintained that both the outreach invitation and the bilateral invitation stand on their respective merits.
The clarification from the Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs has removed ambiguity about official participation at the summit. It has also restated Dhaka’s preference for a dedicated bilateral engagement as the appropriate vehicle for the Prime Minister’s first visit to India. How and when that bilateral visit materialises will be an important marker in the next phase of relations between the two countries.
In the immediate term, the BRICS outreach session will proceed with the participation of other invited regional chairs, while India and Bangladesh continue to manage their bilateral agenda through existing diplomatic mechanisms.
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