Bangladesh FM declines to say if PM Tarique Rahman will attend BRICS Summit in India

UN General Assembly President and Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman on Tuesday declined to comment on whether Prime Minister Tarique Rahman would attend the BRICS Summit in India later this week, after New Delhi invited him to participate in an outreach session of the grouping.

India will host the annual BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, with the meeting expected to deliberate on several pressing global challenges, including the economic fallout of the West Asia crisis.

Responding to a question by news agency PTI on whether the Bangladeshi prime minister would attend the summit, Rahman said he was speaking in his capacity as President of the UN General Assembly and asked that bilateral issues be taken up separately in his role as foreign minister.

"I'm not here in a national capacity, so please forgive me. I will really ask all of you to ask me questions or approach me in my capacity as the President of the General Assembly. If there are bilateral issues, I'm still the Foreign Minister; I'll speak to you separately," he said at a press briefing.

Rahman assumed charge as President of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, taking over the presidency of the world body's annual session.

His remarks came amid uncertainty over Dhaka's participation in the BRICS summit, which India is hosting as the grouping's current chair.

India has invited Tarique Rahman to attend the summit's outreach session in his capacity as the current chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

BIMSTEC comprises India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan.

Bangladesh's participation in the summit is expected to be closely watched amid strained ties with India following New Delhi's decision to provide political asylum to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India after her ouster in a youth-led uprising in August 2024.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in New Delhi that there was no update on whether Dhaka had confirmed the Bangladeshi prime minister's participation in the BRICS summit.

BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Indonesia joined the grouping in 2025.

The grouping has emerged as an influential forum of major emerging economies, with its 11 members accounting for around 49.5 per cent of the global population, 40 per cent of global GDP and 26 per cent of global trade.

(With inputs from PTI)