Prime Minister Tarique Rahman received two invitations, not one- Randhir Jaiswal

Daily Inqilab — Diplomatic Correspondent
India said on Tuesday that Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had received two separate invitations from New Delhi. The Indian government said one of the two invitations was for a bilateral visit, while the other was for attending the BRICS Summit as the chair of BIMSTEC. Speaking on Tuesday, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the two invitations had been extended separately. Earlier last Thursday, the Bangladesh government said Tarique Rahman would not attend the BRICS Summit.

Dhaka’s position was that he had not been invited to the summit; rather, the chair of BIMSTEC had been invited in that capacity. Responding to a journalist’s question on Tuesday, Jaiswal said, “We had invited the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for a bilateral visit. Subsequently, he was invited to attend the BRICS Summit as the chair of BIMSTEC.” Therefore, he said, the Prime Minister had received two invitations, one for a bilateral visit and the other to attend the BRICS Summit.

The two-day BRICS Summit concluded in New Delhi last Sunday. Alongside the leaders of member states, guests from other invited countries also attended the summit.