The invitation extended by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to attend the BRICS Summit in India as a Special Guest during the second week of September 2026 is widely viewed as an opportunity to inject new momentum into the strained Bangladesh–India bilateral relations. It presents a timely and significant opportunity to strengthen the bilateral ties between the two countries. The invitation comes at a time when bilateral relations are faced with several challenges, and there is a distinct need to reinvigorate cooperation and engagement.
This is not the first invitation that Modi has extended to Tarique Rahman. Earlier, the Speaker of the Indian Parliament conveyed Mr. Modi’s invitation during his visit to Dhaka while attending the Prime Minister’s inauguration ceremony. Subsequently, Prime Minister Modi reiterated his invitation while congratulating Mr. Rahman after assuming office. The latest invitation to participate in the BRICS Summit as a Special Guest adds a new dimension to the pending visit, making it both timely and potentially significant. If it takes place, this visit could play an important role in rebuilding and strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries.
It is pertinent to recall that during the Foreign Minister’s visit to China two months earlier, Bangladesh sought China’s support for its aspiration for full membership to BRICS. The Prime Minister’s participation in the summit as a Special Guest provides an excellent opportunity to advance that objective. Besides meeting India’s leadership, the Prime Minister will also have the opportunity to discuss the issue with other BRICS leaders and put forward arguments in support of Bangladesh’s membership. Thus, it would increase Bangladesh’s prospects of being admitted as a full member.
Furthermore, recently, Bangladesh enacted a new law titled Invest Bangladesh 2026 to simplify all investment-related formalities and requirements to attract investment by merging four different investment-related bodies as well as a one-stop service office for investment. Participating in the BRICS summit thus offers an opportunity to engage more closely with a major economic grouping that accounts for a substantial share of global population, trade and investment. As Bangladesh aspires to be an upper-middle-income and a trillion-dollar economy by 2034, closer and stronger engagement with BRICS is likely to contribute to trade diversification, infrastructure financing, technological cooperation and overall investment. Therefore, the Prime Minister’s participation in the summit would serve to advance economic diplomacy.
Beyond BRICS, the visit also offers an opportunity to revitalise the fagging Bangladesh–India bilateral relations. If an official bilateral visit can be arranged immediately before or after the summit, the two Prime Ministers would have the opportunity to review the full spectrum of bilateral relations, discuss areas where further progress is needed, and address existing challenges for shared prosperity. Undoubtedly, the state of Bangladesh–India relations plummeted during the tenure of Dr. Yunus’ unelected interim government. Differences in policy positions, anti-India political rhetoric, criticism, and alleged persecution of Hindus undermined mutual trust and confidence between the two governments and the countries. Although formal diplomatic contacts continued, with the taking over by the current elected government, several strains in the relations have already been removed.
The invitation to a democratically elected prime minister could indeed mark the beginning of a new chapter of cooperation in bilateral relations and bring a new dimension to the ties. Given that the current government is elected, it possesses the political legitimacy necessary to pursue a pragmatic and forward-looking foreign policy towards our biggest and most important next-door neighbour.
There is no denying the fact that Bangladesh and India are closely interconnected through geography, history, culture, and economic interdependence. Strengthening bilateral relations based on mutual respect, cooperation, and shared interests is critical to ensuring regional peace, stability, and development.
Among the priority bilateral issues, the renewal of the Ganges Water Sharing Agreement is undoubtedly an important one. The current agreement will expire on 31 December 2026. Over the past three decades, it has provided a workable framework for sharing the Ganges waters during the dry season and has served as the foundation for managing this sensitive and important issue through cooperation between the two countries. Incidentally, it is observed that even though the treaty is expiring in a few months, there has been little visible high-level political engagement on the issue. We are only aware of a meeting of the Joint Rivers Commission held in Kolkata last May. Since then, there have been no publicly reported meetings between the water resources or foreign ministers of the two countries regarding its renewal. These high-level meetings are critical to successful negotiations. Meanwhile, a media report suggested that the government of Bangladesh has requested India to continue the existing arrangement under the treaty until it is renewed. If it is true, there seems to be uncertainty about the renewal of the treaty before its expiry.
Apart from the renewal of the treaty, several other issues also require high-level diplomatic attention. Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to India is scheduled to leave to assume a new diplomatic assignment in another country next month; no announcement yet when his successor can be in Delhi. The Foreign Minister will remain engaged until almost the end of December to perform his responsibilities as President of the United Nations General Assembly. All this makes the Prime Minister’s direct political engagement in the issue even more important. It’s worthwhile to recall that in the past, our former heads of government played a critical role in concluding this important treaty with India by providing the political guidance necessary to resolve complex issues and move the negotiations towards successful outcomes. Engagement of the Prime Ministers could help both sides reach an acceptable understanding before the current agreement expires.
That being said, the invitation to the Prime Minister’s visit to the BRICS Summit presents an excellent opportunity, and the government should seriously consider accepting it if we really improve the bilateral relations with India.
On the other hand, no matter how enthusiastic we are about the Teesta project, the importance of the Renewal of the Ganges Water Sharing Agreement cannot be underestimated. Irrigation, Agriculture, fisheries, inland navigation, and the ecological balance across large parts of Rajshahi, Pabna, Kushtia, and parts of Faridpur depend heavily on adequate dry-season flows of the Padma/Ganges. The continuation of the agreement is therefore of critical importance to our economy and environmental sustainability. A meeting between the two prime ministers could also allay some misunderstanding and misperception about the Teesta project.
The invitation to attend the BRICS summit and a piggyback bilateral visit could also provide an opportunity to discuss several other important issues like Indian investment in Bangladesh, improving transit facilities for Bangladeshi exports, expanding trade and investment, removing non-tariff barriers, strengthening border management, and addressing issues relating to border killings and border security. At the same time, constructive discussions could also take place on the issue of the return of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the reintroduction of inclusive politics in Bangladesh in the interest of the country’s political stability and economic and social progress. Doubtless, these are complex issues; however, an open-minded, constructive, and sustained dialogue at the Prime Minister’s level could yield meaningful progress in the bilateral relations.
Government of Bangladesh should, therefore, consider the Prime Minister’s participation in the BRICS Summit from a positive perspective and consider it as an opportunity for meaningful and constructive diplomatic engagement. We must not undermine and underestimate the power and importance of genuine dialogue and diplomacy; these are proven and the most effective means for advancing the national interests of any country and identifying new areas of cooperation by removing strains in the relations. Differences between neighbouring countries do always exist and cannot always be fully averted, but remaining engaged and continuously open-minded dialogue has always been the most powerful and effective way to rebuild mutual trust, confidence, and understanding.
Therefore, participation in the BRICS Summit, together with a bilateral visit to India, offers an opportunity to achieve several important strategic objectives. It could be useful to advance our aspiration to secure BRICS membership, inject new impetus to the bilateral relations, present new opportunities for economic cooperation, and progress towards renewing the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty.
History tells us how diplomacy presented certain moments when policymakers took the right decisions that reshaped the trajectory of bilateral relations and often produced unimaginable success. The Prime Minister’s participation in the forthcoming BRICS Summit offers such a unique moment. Can or will the Government of Bangladesh seize this unique opportunity to secure our long-term national interests, rebuild trust, advance bilateral relations, bring back political stability, promote regional cooperation, and sustainable development?
The writer is the Former Ambassador and Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
