No decision yet on PM's India visit for BRICS summit: Foreign minister
The government has not yet decided whether Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will attend the BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12-13, Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman said today.
“First of all, I am not an astrologer. So, I cannot predict on which exact day it will happen,” Khalil told reporters after Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi paid a courtesy call on Tarique at the Secretariat.
“Secondly, the BIMSTEC invitation was not extended to the prime minister personally. It was addressed to the chairperson of BIMSTEC,” he said.
Khalil said Bangladesh had received two invitations from India -- one from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a bilateral visit and another for the BIMSTEC chairperson to attend the BRICS summit.
He said no decision had been taken on whether to accept either invitation.
The foreign minister said Trivedi’s meeting with Tarique was largely a courtesy call, during which they briefly discussed several bilateral issues, including the extradition of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and the return of suspects of killing Inquilab Moncho spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi.
Bangladesh urged India to expedite Hasina’s extradition, Khalil said.
“We hope India will respond positively in this regard,” he said.
He also said Bangladesh had handed over documents requested by India regarding the suspects of killing Hadi and urged New Delhi to extradite them.
Referring to Hasina’s address at an event in India on August 5, Khalil said Bangladesh had clearly conveyed its position to New Delhi.
The foreign minister said Indian authorities had understood the seriousness of the issue and that he was “somewhat reassured” that such an incident would not be repeated.
“We hope they will not do anything to undermine any pillar of our state again,” he said.
On recent border killings and push-ins, Khalil said the issues were only briefly touched upon during the meeting.
He said river management and the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty were not discussed during the courtesy call.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments