Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s External Affairs Ministry, announced on Tuesday that Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has received two invitations to visit India. The first invitation is for a bilateral meeting, while the second is to attend the upcoming BRICS Summit, where Bangladesh will participate as chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). These invitations highlight ongoing diplomatic efforts between India and Bangladesh.
Rahman skipped the summit hosted in New Delhi last week and has still not travelled to India for the planned bilateral talks. “We had invited Prime Minister of Bangladesh on a bilateral visit, as also subsequently he was invited for the BRICS Summit as Chair of BIMSTEC. As and when we have something to update you with, we’ll surely come back. The invitation, he explained, was extended only to the BIMSTEC chair. “How shall we go? Has anyone from the Bangladesh government been invited? Our prime minister was not invited. The BIMSTEC Chair was invited,” Kobir was quoted as saying by The Daily Star.
Rahman, who assumed office as Bangladesh’s prime minister in February 2026, has still not undertaken an official bilateral visit to India.
So he had received two invitations, one on the bilateral side and the other for the BRICS Summit as well,” the MEA spokesperson said. When asked about Rahman’s proposed visit to India, Randhir Jaiswal said, “On the visit of the [Bangladesh] Prime Minister, we have not heard anything. Bangladesh’s statement on the BRICS invitation Jaiswal’s clarification followed remarks by Bangladesh’s state minister for foreign affairs, Humaiun Kobir, who said Rahman had not been invited to the BRICS Summit in his capacity as prime minister. Who told you that our Prime Minister was invited?
