PM’s India visit for BRICS summit still undecided: FM

Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman said on Monday that the government has yet to decide whether Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will attend the BRICS Summit’s outreach session in New Delhi next month.

“First of all, I am not an astrologer. So, I cannot predict on which exact day it will happen,” he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi paid a courtesy call on the prime minister at the Secretariat.

Khalilur said Bangladesh had received two separate invitations from India, one from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a bilateral visit and another for the BIMSTEC chairperson to attend the BRICS Summit. He urged the media to distinguish between the two invitations.

The foreign minister said Trivedi’s meeting with Tarique was largely a courtesy call, with the two briefly discussing bilateral issues, including the extradition of ousted fascist Sheikh Hasina and the repatriation of suspects wanted over the killing of Inqilab Moncho spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi.

Khalil said Bangladesh had urged India to expedite Hasina’s extradition. “We hope India will respond positively in this regard,” he said.

He said Bangladesh had also provided India with documents requested regarding the suspects in Hadi’s killing and urged New Delhi to extradite them.

Regarding Hasina’s address at an event in India on 5 August, Khalil said Bangladesh had clearly conveyed its concerns to New Delhi. Indian authorities understood the seriousness of the matter, he said, adding that he was “somewhat reassured” that such an incident would not happen again.

“We hope they will not do anything to undermine any pillar of our state again,” he said.

India confirmed on 4 August that it had invited Tarique to attend the BRICS Summit in his capacity as BIMSTEC chair, while a separate invitation for a bilateral visit has been pending since February.

India will host the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on 12-13 September, with global cooperation, trade and sustainable development among the key areas of focus.

Khalil said recent border killings and push-ins were mentioned only briefly during the meeting. He added that river management and the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty were not discussed.