India invites Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman to BRICS summit outreach session
India has invited Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to attend the outreach session of the BRICS summit in New Delhi next month in his capacity
India has invited Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to attend the outreach session of the BRICS summit in New Delhi next month in his capacity as the current chair of BIMSTEC, while also extending a separate invitation for a bilateral visit to India. The 18th BRICS Summit will be hosted by India on September 12 and 13, with the grouping expected to take up pressing global challenges, including the economic fallout from the ongoing crisis in West Asia. Read Full Story External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal announced the invitation at a regular media briefing on Tuesday. “As far as the BRICS summit is concerned, India has separately extended an invitation to the Bangladesh prime minister in his capacity as the current chair of BIMSTEC to attend the outreach session of the 18th BRICS Summit,” Jaiswal said.
INVITATION IN LINE WITH BRICS PRACTICE Jaiswal said Rahman's invitation was part of the standard practice followed by BRICS for its outreach sessions, where leaders of regional groupings are invited. “The invitation has been extended as per the standard practice being followed in BRICS for the outreach sessions. Other heads of regional groups have also been invited in a similar manner,” he said. India is hosting the summit as the current chair of BRICS. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Russian President Vladimir Putin are among the prominent leaders expected to attend. New Delhi has also invited leaders from several non-BRICS countries to participate in the outreach session.
SEPARATE INVITATION FOR BILATERAL VISIT Apart from the BRICS invitation, India has also invited Rahman for a bilateral visit after he assumed office as Bangladesh prime minister in February. The two invitations come as India and Bangladesh seek to strengthen bilateral engagement following a prolonged period of diplomatic strain. BRICS has expanded significantly since its formation by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates joined in 2024, followed by Indonesia in 2025. The grouping now has 11 member countries, accounting for around 49.5 per cent of the world's population, about 40 per cent of global GDP and approximately 26 per cent of global trade.
WHAT IS BIMSTEC? The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, or BIMSTEC, comprises India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan. Rahman's invitation to the BRICS outreach session is therefore linked to Bangladesh's role as the current chair of the regional grouping. With the BRICS summit approaching, India has extended the invitation to Rahman in his capacity as BIMSTEC chair while separately seeking a bilateral engagement with the Bangladesh prime minister during his tenure. Ends With PTI inputs
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