Why Tarique Rahman skipped BRICS Summit in India? Bangladeshi envoy reveals reason

Bangladesh High Commissioner Riaz Hamidullah said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman skipped the BRICS Summit in India because of "certain context and circumstances". He did not elaborate on those factors, while rejecting the suggestion that Dhaka's BIMSTEC chairmanship alone drove the decision.

In Short

• Envoy cites 'context and circumstances' for Tarique Rahman skipping BRICS Summit
• Says Bangladesh supports 'open regionalism' and active in BIMSTEC, SAARC groups
• Stresses importance of regional bodies' participation in global summits like BRICS

Bangladesh's Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has decided to skip the BRICS Summit in India despite Dhaka holding the BIMSTEC chair, with Bangladesh's High Commissioner saying there was a “certain context and circumstances” behind the decision.

At the India Today BRICS Roundtable, Riaz Hamidullah was asked whether Rahman had refused to attend the summit because Bangladesh was the BIMSTEC chair. Hamidullah pushed back on that characterisation.

“It's been 6.5 months. We now have a democratically elected dispensation in Bangladesh. There's a certain context and circumstances which actually led to this decision for the PM not being able to come and join. That's the simplest of answers,” Hamidullah said. The envoy, however, did not spell out the specific circumstances that prevented Rahman from attending the BRICS Summit to be held on September 12 and 13.

Hamidullah was also asked whether it had been difficult for diplomats to engage in conversations aimed at making Rahman's participation happen. “That's why diplomats are known as strange animals,” he quipped.

The envoy's remarks come at a time when Bangladesh is demanding India to extradite former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to face charges related to the crackdown on the 2024 students' protests.

Last year, Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia after she was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the protests.

WILL BANGLADESH JOIN BRICS?

Asked whether Bangladesh is planning to join BRICS, Hamidullah said Dhaka believed in “open regionalism” and had consistently engaged with regional and subregional organisations. He pointed to Bangladesh's role in BIMSTEC and its participation in other regional initiatives as evidence of this approach.

“We are one of the founding members of BIMSTEC in 1997. That's a foregone conclusion. We believe in open regionalism. I mean, any regional or subregional framework since the 1980s -- we would look at that and find the guiding principles in terms of values that we subscribe to,” he said.

He said Bangladesh had participated in multiple regional initiatives as changing circumstances demanded closer cooperation, including SAARC, BIMSTEC and BBIN. “We are absolutely open. We started with SAARC, BIMSTEC. Then came BBIN and SAGQ, which brought Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Northeast India together.”

Hamidullah said these initiatives should not be viewed as experiments but as responses to changing regional and geopolitical circumstances.

ON ROLE OF REGIONAL ORGANISATIONS

On the concept of the Global South, Hamidullah said the grouping comprised many countries with differing interests and could not be treated as a monolith. He said the focus should be on finding common ground among countries across economic, political and geopolitical spheres.

“Global South is interesting because the reference to it keeps coming in for quite some years. How many countries are we looking at? You go by different estimations and criteria, we would find between 130 and 150 countries. It is not a monolith. There are different layers,” he said.

The envoy said the Global South had earlier found a common platform through groupings such as the G77 and the Non-Aligned Movement, but there was now a gap that needed to be addressed. “Unlike previous times when the Global South came under the G77 and NAM, after that there is a vacuum right now.”

The High Commissioner said the participation of regional and subregional organisations in major summits was an established practice and should be viewed positively. He said platforms such as BIMSTEC being invited to BRICS and other summit-level forums reflected this approach.

“The idea of getting regional or subregional organisations into not only BRICS but other places where summits have taken place has been the convention. It is a welcome thing. Anyone, for that matter, will look at it positively and constructively,” he said.

“When BRICS travelled to Southeast Asia and India, it is in the fit of things that regional organisation platforms like BIMSTEC have been invited,” he added.

- Ends