Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s decision not to attend the BRICS summit in New Delhi last month was “immature” and did not serve the country’s national interest, former PM Sheikh Hasina told PTI in an interview on Wednesday.
Hasina, who has been in Delhi since the collapse of her government in August 2024 following massive student-led protests, said that it was “deeply unfortunate” if her presence was the reason behind Rahman skipping the summit. She added that “short-term political calculations are inherently counterproductive”.
“Relations between two countries cannot be determined by personal considerations or political sensitivities involving one individual,” she told PTI.
On September 10, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir had said that Dhaka would not send a government representative to the BRICS Summit as Rahman was “not invited” to the meeting.
However, Bangladesh had received two invitations from India. One from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a bilateral visit, while the other for Rahman, in his capacity as chairperson of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation to attend the BRICS summit which was held on September 12 and 13.
Bangladesh assumed the chairmanship of BIMSTEC in April 2025 for a two-year term. The regional grouping comprises Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
The BRICS grouping comprises India, Brazil, Russia, China,...