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Biman Mukherji

India’s invitation to Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to attend a Brics summit in New Delhi in September is being seen as a chance to repair ties after one of the most turbulent periods in relations between the neighbours in years.
If Rahman accepts, he will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi directly for the first time since becoming Bangladesh’s leader after elections in February.
Brics is an association of leading emerging national economies whose members include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Delhi is set to host the 18th Brics summit on September 12 and 13.
A Bangladesh Foreign Ministry official told ANI that Dhaka had received the invitation and forwarded it to the prime minister’s office.
Bangladesh, which is not a Brics member, was invited as a special guest because it currently chairs the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), according to the official.
The invitation comes as both sides signal a desire to stabilise ties after a period of strain that followed the August 2024 ousting of Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, whose government had worked closely with Delhi.
Hasina fled to India after the protests, making her presence there a sensitive issue for the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus.

“India is trying to keep relations with Bangladesh on an even keel and certainly post-Muhammad Yunus, with a new government in place which is democratically elected, there have been signals from both sides that they want sustained engagement,” said Harsh Pant, an international affairs professor at King’s College London.
“They also want to ensure the gains of India-Bangladesh cooperation should continue to elevate not only India-Bangladesh ties but also the larger regional framework. So certainly this outreach is important and even Bangladesh has indicated that it is willing to engage with India on substantive issues.”
BIMSTEC has seven members – Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand – and is an integral part of Delhi’s vision for regional connectivity and cooperation.
Headquartered in Dhaka, the bloc was established in 1997 to promote the economic development of the Bay of Bengal region, which lies at the nexus of trade routes between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
BIMSTEC will mark its 30th anniversary next year, and Bangladesh is scheduled to host a summit in Dhaka.
The grouping has long planned to establish a free-trade area, but this has yet to materialise.
Relations between India and Bangladesh have shown signs of improving under Rahman’s government, which has sought to balance ties with regional powers India and China.
India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, who took up the position last month, was given cabinet minister’s rank, a move analysts have read as another signal of Delhi’s outreach to Dhaka.

Sreeradha Datta, a professor of international affairs at India’s O.P. Jindal Global University in Haryana state, welcomed the outreach.
“At this point in time, Bangladesh is looking for support from friends and neighbours. India wants to engage and see how to take relationships forward. This would be a good opportunity to work together and share concerns,” she said.
“The impasse that exists now is not sustainable. Over the last 10-15 years, we have built a robust trade partnership, why should that not be encouraged?” Datta asked, noting that Rahman’s government had expressed a desire to work with India.
Bilateral trade has been affected by successive restrictions over the past two years, following the political shifts in Dhaka.
The diplomatic opening also comes as global trade tensions and the impact of the US-Iran war on Strait of Hormuz maritime traffic weigh on South Asia.
Priyajit Debsarkar, a London-based author specialising in South Asia, said tensions appeared to be easing, with both countries recently resuming tourist visas.
The neighbours, he added, should seek an “amicable solution” because their relationship was inseparable.

Rahman’s administration has also called for a revival of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives.
Rahman’s father, former president Ziaur Rahman, was a principal initiator and founding figure of the SAARC movement.
SAARC was established in 1985 but stalled in 2016 primarily due to the cancellation of a summit in Pakistan, triggered by an Indian boycott following a terror attack in Uri.
Maldives President Mohammed Muizzu has lent his weight behind Rahman’s call for a revival of the regional group and announced his willingness to mediate between India and Pakistan, the two principal actors, to resolve tensions.
Debsarkar noted that the climate of geopolitical uncertainty had shifted focus among some countries to explore ways to expand regional trade.
“If regional cross-border exchanges become more seamless, [that] can act as a shock absorber,” he said. “A more predictable environment for all is a win-win situation.”
Datta said a revival of SAARC could help boost regional cooperation as it had a subregional framework to promote trade between member nations.


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Can a Brics invite mark a new chapter in India-Bangladesh ties?

India’s Prime Minister Narendra  Modi (fifth from right) with other Brics leaders at the summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 6, 2025. Photo: Reuters

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman (left) attends a meeting in Putrajaya, Malaysia, in June. Photo: Pool via Reuters.

Indian cargo trucks wait in a queue as they return to India after unloading goods at the Bhomra Land Customs Station in Satkhira, Bangladesh, in June. Photo: AFP

Leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation pose next to the Indian Ocean at a seaside resort in Bentota, Sri Lanka, ahead of talks in July 1998. Photo: Reuters

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Indian cargo trucks wait in a queue as they return to India after unloading goods at the Bhomra Land Customs Station in Satkhira along the Bangladesh-India border, in June. Photo: AFP

Border Guard Bangladesh personnel patrolling near the Benapole-Petrapole frontier crossing between Bangladesh and India in Benapole in June. Photo: AFP

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 26. Photo: Xinhua

Fishermen ferrying along the Ichamati river, a transboundary waterway which separates Bangladesh and India in Satkhira, on June 4. Photo: AFP

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Tarique Rahman (centre), waves to supporters in Dhaka February shortly before his election as Bangladesh’s prime minister. Photo: AFP

Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia queue for food aid outside the Bangladeshi High Commission in Kuala Lumpur in 2007. Photo: AFP

A train travels along a newly-constructed railway, part of a belt and road megaproject, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 2023. Photo: Xinhua

A Bangladeshi migrant is seen detained at a holding centre in West Bengal, India, on May 27. Photo: EPA

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Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s government has moved to reset diplomatic ties with India after an extended period of strain. Photo: AFP

India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (right) shaking hands with his Bangladeshi counterpart Khalilur Rahman during a meeting in New Delhi on April 8. Photo: India’s Ministry of External Affairs / AFP

A worker refills fuel supplies at a petrol pump in Dhaka on May 6. India has provided urgent energy aid to help Bangladesh manage critical fuel shortages amid the Iran war crisis. Photo: AP

The Teesta River is pictured at Sevok, some 20km from Siliguri. Bangladesh asked China earlier this month to help with a Teesta River restoration project. Photo: AFP

Bangladesh tests its India ties by seeking China’s aid for Teesta River

The Teesta River flows through Sevok in India’s West Bengal state, around 60km north of the Bangladesh border and some 20km east of Siliguri. Photo: AFP

Border Security Force personnel inspect a truck carrying supplies to Bangladesh at the India-Bangladesh border on the outskirts of Siliguri on August 7, 2024. Photo: AFP

The Teesta River is seen during a flash flood in India’s Sikkim state in 2023. Photo: Indian Army/AFP

Newly elected Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari greets Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his swearing-in ceremony in Kolkata on May 9. Photo: EPA

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Analysts welcome the outreach, saying the summit will be an opportunity for both sides to work together if Rahman accepts the invitation


Analysts welcome the outreach, saying the summit will be an opportunity for both sides to work together if Rahman accepts the invitation.


Can a Brics invite mark a new chapter in India-Bangladesh ties?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Analysts welcome the outreach, saying the summit will be an opportunity for both sides to work together if Rahman accepts the invitation

Analysts welcome the outreach, saying the summit will be an opportunity for both sides to work together if Rahman accepts the invitation