Bangladesh Snubs BRICS Summit, Cites India Trust Deficit — SkimNews
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- Tarique Rahman skipped the BRICS summit in New Delhi, and no Bangladeshi representative attended; State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir said Rahman's first India visit should be a full-fledged bilateral one, not via a multilateral conference.
- New Delhi countered that Rahman received two separate invitations—one bilateral from PM Narendra Modi in February after the BNP government took office, and one for the BRICS outreach as BIMSTEC chair—with media reports suggesting a possible visit in November.
- Sheikh Hasina's virtual address from Delhi on August 5 has deepened the trust deficit; Bangladesh has demanded her extradition plus the return of those allegedly involved in the killing of Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson of Inqilab Mancha.
- Rahman's government, which took office in February after the BNP won elections following the 2024 mass uprising, has pursued a 'Bangladesh First' policy, with the PM having already visited Malaysia and China and heading to the US for the UN General Assembly.
- Bangladesh's growing engagement with China on infrastructure cooperation has drawn attention in New Delhi, which faces the challenge of rebuilding ties with Dhaka while navigating a shifting geopolitical environment in South Asia.
- Bangladesh ranks better than India on both the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index and the Global Terrorism Index by the Institute for Economics & Peace, a comparison the article flags against Indian commentary on Bangladeshi law and order.
Why it matters: Bangladesh's refusal to send even a foreign minister after a formal BRICS invitation makes clear Dhaka will not normalize ties on Delhi's preferred timeline. The Hasina factor and Bangladesh's deepening China engagement give New Delhi a strategic headache, with a possible November visit now the next test of whether a bilateral reset is possible.
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