NEW DELHI: Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had received two separate invitations from India — one for a bilateral visit and another to attend the Brics Summit as chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec), the ministry of external affairs said on Tuesday.Addressing the MEA’s weekly press briefing, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal clarified the nature of the invitations amid questions over whether Rahman had been invited to the Brics Summit in New Delhi.“We had invited the Prime Minister of Bangladesh on a bilateral visit, and subsequently, he was invited for the Brics Summit as chair of Bimstec. So, he had received two invitations, one on the bilateral side and the other for the Brics Summit as well,” Jaiswal said.
Brics invitation came as Bimstec chair
Bangladesh is neither a Brics member nor a partner country. India had invited Rahman to the outreach session of the 18th Brics Summit in his capacity as the current chair of Bimstec, according to an earlier MEA briefing.The Brics Summit was held in New Delhi from September 12 to 13, bringing together leaders of member and partner countries as well as outreach invitees.The clarification from the MEA came after Bangladeshi officials had said Rahman was not invited to the summit in his capacity as Bangladesh’s prime minister.Bangladesh state minister for foreign affairs Humayun Kabir had said last week that the invitation was extended to the Bimstec chair rather than to Rahman as Bangladesh’s prime minister.“How shall we go? Has anyone from the Bangladesh government been invited? Our PM was not invited. Who told you that our PM was invited? The Bimstec Chair was invited. Then why are you asking this question?” Kabir had told reporters.
Bilateral visit invitation also remains in place
Jaiswal’s remarks also reiterated that India had separately invited Rahman for a bilateral visit.The bilateral invitation had been extended in February. India had sent Lok Sabha Speaker Om Prakash Birla to attend the inauguration of Rahman’s BNP government on February 17 following Bangladesh’s February 12 general elections.
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Birla had carried a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulating Rahman and inviting him to India along with his wife and daughter.Kabir had earlier said Bangladesh was placing greater emphasis on arranging a bilateral visit for Rahman and that his first visit to India should not be a multilateral one. He had said the government was working to arrange the bilateral visit when the timing was conducive.The issue comes against the backdrop of strained India-Bangladesh ties over several unresolved matters, including former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s presence in India, extradition requests and water-sharing issues, while Dhaka has also been strengthening its engagement with China and Pakistan.