Bangladesh will not send any government representative to the upcoming BRICS summit in New Delhi, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a programme on the Rohingya crisis at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, Kobir said Bangladesh had not received an invitation as a government delegation.

“They didn’t invite anyone from the Bangladesh government. How can we go?” he said.

The state minister also clarified that the invitation extended by India was to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in his capacity as chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), rather than to Bangladesh as a government participant.

India had earlier confirmed that Rahman was invited to the BRICS outreach session as BIMSTEC chair. 

According to New Age, Kobir said there was no question of sending another representative in place of the BIMSTEC chair. He also indicated that Dhaka was focusing on a separate bilateral engagement with New Delhi.

“We are working on our bilateral visit. When the environment is conducive, we will go,” he said, adding that the first meeting between the two sides should not take place in a multilateral setting.

Kobir also said Bangladesh was pursuing all issues linked to its national interests, including the Ganges Water Treaty.

The 18th BRICS Summit is scheduled for September 12–13 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. Bangladesh’s decision comes as Dhaka and New Delhi continue discussions over a possible bilateral visit by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. 

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