India says no word yet on PM Tarique’s BRICS visit as Delhi trip remains uncertain

India said Tuesday it had no new information on whether Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman would travel to New Delhi for this weekend’s BRICS summit, leaving uncertainty over a visit that had been under diplomatic discussion for months.

Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made the remarks at his weekly media briefing when asked whether Dhaka had formally confirmed Tarique’s participation.

“I don’t have any update” on his attendance at the BRICS outreach session as BIMSTEC chair, Jaiswal said.

He also declined to specify which foreign leaders had confirmed attendance at the summit, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday in New Delhi.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invited Tarique to attend the outreach segment in his capacity as chair of BIMSTEC.

India had separately invited Tarique for a bilateral visit after he took office as Bangladesh’s prime minister in February.

Diplomatic discussions subsequently began over a possible visit, but no date was finalised.

The prospect became more uncertain after relations faced renewed strains following ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s virtual appearance at an August 5 event in New Delhi, where she spoke directly with journalists on the second anniversary of Bangladesh’s July uprising.

Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir indicated several days ago that a visit by Tarique to India before the UN General Assembly session was highly unlikely.

Jaiswal was also questioned Tuesday about a meeting between Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi and Bangladesh President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in Dhaka earlier in the day.

Asked whether Tarique’s possible India visit and Bangladesh’s request for Hasina’s extradition had figured in the talks, Jaiswal did not address the Hasina question.

He described the meeting as a courtesy call and said the two sides discussed different aspects of bilateral relations, including ways to deepen ties and people-to-people contacts.

Asked again about Tarique’s prospective visit, Jaiswal said he had no new information.

The spokesperson, however, stressed that India’s engagement with Bangladesh was continuing despite the diplomatic uncertainties.

“We have engagement with Bangladesh in various areas, including development cooperation, connectivity, people-to-people contacts, capacity building and several other fields,” he said.

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