India has invited Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to attend the 18th Brics Summit scheduled for September 12-13, 2026 in New Delhi as a special guest. According to Shama Obaid Islam, Bangladeshi State Minister for Foreign Affairs, the ministry received the invitation from the Indian side and forwarded it to the Prime Minister's Office. This marks the first BRICS summit to be held after Mr. Rahman came to power in February, following a landslide victory for his Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the general election held after nearly 15 months of an interim government in Dhaka. The invitation was conveyed to Dhaka this week, with the Bangladeshi side yet to take a call on Rahman's participation in the summit. This is the second instance of New Delhi sending an invitation to Rahman - the first was when Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla travelled to Dhaka in February to attend the Bangladesh premier's swearing-in ceremony. Mr. Rahman's first two foreign trips after taking charge were to Malaysia and China last month, when he met Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Chinese President Xi Jinping, reflecting his government's 'Bangladesh First' policy which marked a departure from former PM Sheikh Hasina's position of giving India primacy in her foreign policy.
Several important discussions are pending between India and Bangladesh, due to the lack of any high-level contacts between the two countries since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024. One of these issues awaiting resolution is the Ganga water treaty of 1996, which needs to be renewed as its validity ends on December 31, 2026. The two sides need to meet and finalise the draft of the renewal before that date. The invitation comes amid continued diplomatic engagement between the two neighbours, with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meeting Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman on Thursday in Manila to discuss bilateral ties and regional issues. Bangladesh also aspires to become a Brics member and has already received support from China and Russia, with both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin expected to attend the summit. The invitation for Rahman also comes at a time when the Bangladesh government is set to send foreign secretary Asadullah Alam Siam as the new high commissioner to India, with the current envoy Riaz Hamidullah expected to be posted to Geneva.
Addressing concerns about the ongoing student movement in India where many Bangladeshi nationals are currently residing, State Minister Shama Obaid Islam emphasized Bangladesh's commitment to regional stability. Speaking to journalists at her office on Thursday afternoon, she stated that "As a democratic state and a democratic government, Bangladesh wants peace and stability to be maintained in our region. As a democratic government and state, we hope that India, as the world's largest democracy, will pay attention to the concerns of its people and move quickly toward resolving the situation." This statement reflects Bangladesh's diplomatic approach to regional issues while maintaining its commitment to democratic principles and regional cooperation.
India is hosting the Brics Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Risk Reduction in New Delhi on Friday under its Brics Chairship 2026. As reported by Business Standard, the meeting will be chaired by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai and will bring together ministers and senior officials from Brics member countries to strengthen cooperation on disaster preparedness and resilience. The discussions are expected to focus on improving early warning systems, strengthening disaster risk governance, enhancing climate resilience, sharing best practices in disaster management, and expanding cooperation in capacity building and technology. The meeting will conclude with the adoption of a Joint Ministerial Statement, outlining the bloc's shared priorities for disaster risk reduction.
India has concluded the 16th Brics Health Ministers' Meeting in Chandigarh as part of its Brics Chairship 2026. According to Business Standard, the three-day programme brought together health ministers, senior officials, and public health experts from Brics member countries to discuss shared health priorities. The meeting focused on strengthening cooperation in areas such as pandemic preparedness and health security, digital health and responsible use of artificial intelligence, affordable medicines and pharmaceutical cooperation, and traditional and integrative medicine. The Brics Health Ministers unanimously adopted the 16th Brics Health Ministerial Declaration, which outlines future cooperation and institutional mechanisms across key healthcare priorities, while India announced that the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) will coordinate the Brics Network of Centres of Excellence on Mental Wellness.
India's Brics Chairship is built around the overarching theme of 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.' As reported by Business Standard, under this framework, India's priorities span core global domains including disaster risk management, economic cooperation, digital transformation, and sustainable development. The developments reflect India's efforts to strengthen the bloc's global role and deepen engagement with the Global South, with the ministerial meetings concluding a series of key diplomatic and institutional activities under India's 2026 Chairship. The 18th Brics Summit will focus on global cooperation, trade, and sustainable development, with the summit expected to be a significant platform for international diplomatic engagement. The current BRICS members are Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.
