In a related development, Bangladesh on Thursday ruled out the possibility of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman visiting India this week, saying he was not invited to the Brics Summit and the invitation was instead extended to the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). India-Bangladesh ties have been fraught after deposed former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina addressed a media conference in New Delhi on August 5, and Dhaka expressed its interest in joining the Mecca Defence Pact with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.
Bangladesh is neither a Brics member nor one of the partner countries. It was invited as part of the Brics outreach initiative, along with the leaders of the current chairs of the African Union, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Gulf Cooperation Council and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, or CELAC. Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who will be attending the Summit since the Central Asian Republic is a Brics partner country, will also represent the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) as it is the grouping’s current chair.
Speaking to reporters in Dhaka, Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir claimed that the Bangladesh premier was not properly invited to the Brics Summit. He said that the invitation was extended to Rahman not as prime minister but as the chairman of the seven-nation South and East Asian BIMSTEC. Kobir said the Bangladesh prime minister's first visit cannot be a multilateral one. “When the environment is favourable, and mutual respect is maintained, bilateral visits will take place. There is no need to rush,” Kobir said, adding that Bangladesh is working to arrange a bilateral visit to India when the timing is conducive. The India-Bangladesh Ganges Water Treaty, signed in 1996 to govern dry-season sharing of the river's waters, is due to expire in December.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials said on Thursday evening that most other leaders of the 11 Brics member countries and its 10 partner countries have confirmed their attendance, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Only three of the Brics member countries will be represented by their respective foreign ministers.
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Other than the Summit’s two sessions over the weekend, the highlight of the Summit will be Prime Minister Modi’s bilateral meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi. The Chinese President last visited India in 2019 for an informal summit with Modi in Mamallapuram near Chennai. He attended the Brics Summit that India hosted in Goa in 2016. He made his first visit to India in 2014, when he held extensive talks with Modi. The two leaders are expected to sustain the momentum in normalising ties, which began after their meeting in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024 on the sidelines of the Brics Summit there, after four years of fraught relations following the 2020 Eastern Ladakh standoff.
Ahead of Xi's visit, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held extensive talks in Beijing last month on the boundary issue and reached an eight-point consensus on August 25. In Beijing, Chinese officials said Xi's participation underscores Beijing's continued commitment to the Brics framework and its role in shaping a more inclusive global order.
