Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman on Monday said the government has not yet decided whether Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will attend the BRICS Summit's outreach session in New Delhi next month.
He also urged the media to understand the difference between the two separate invitations from the Indian side.
“First of all, I am not an astrologer. So, I cannot predict on which exact day it will happen. Secondly, the BIMSTEC invitation was not extended to the prime minister personally. It was addressed to the chairperson of BIMSTEC,” he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Dr Khalilur was briefing reporters after Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister at the Secretariat.
The Foreign Minister said Bangladesh had received two invitations from India - one from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a bilateral visit and another for the BIMSTEC chairperson to attend the BRICS Summit.
During the courtesy meeting with the Prime Minister, the High Commissioner conveyed greetings from Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and the intent to work together with the government and people of Bangladesh in a positive, constructive and forward-looking manner.
They exchanged views on matters of mutual interest and discussed avenues for further strengthening bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh with a people-centric approach.
The High Commissioner also paid a courtesy call on Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed.
The discussions focused on furthering bilateral relations and covered areas of common interest, including security cooperation between the two countries.
The High Commissioner conveyed India's willingness to strengthen people-centric cooperation in all domains, based on mutual interest, mutual benefit and mutual sensitivities.
On August 4, India confirmed that an invitation had been extended to Prime Minister Tarique to attend the BRICS Summit as the BIMSTEC Chair, while a separate bilateral invitation has been in place since February this year.
India will host the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13, focusing on global cooperation, trade and sustainable development.
"You would be aware that a formal invitation to Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to visit India was extended when he assumed office in February 2026," said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during a media briefing in New Delhi recently.
As far as the BRICS Summit is concerned, he said India has separately extended an invitation to the Bangladesh Prime Minister in his capacity as the current Chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) to attend the outreach session of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi.
"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," the MEA spokesperson said.
BIMSTEC comprises seven countries in the Bay of Bengal region - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
In April last year, Bangladesh assumed the chairmanship of the regional grouping for the next two years, reaffirming its commitment to advancing regional cooperation and development.