Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will not attend the Brics Summit in New Delhi after Dhaka said he was not invited to the two-day meeting.Bangladesh state minister for foreign affairs Humaiun Kobir said on Thursday there was scope for the country to send a government representative to the summit, but ruled out Tarique Rahman’s participation.“How shall we go? Has anyone from the Bangladesh government been invited? Our prime minister was not invited. Who told you that our Prime Minister was invited? The BIMSTEC Chair was invited. Then why are you asking this question?” he told reporters at the Foreign Service Academy, according to The Daily Star.Kobir said the invitation had been extended to the chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), rather than Bangladesh’s prime minister.India is hosting the 18th Brics Summit in New Delhi from September 12 to 13 at Bharat Mandapam. The summit is being held under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”.The meeting is expected to bring several international leaders and high-level delegations to the national capital.Ahead of the summit, Delhi Police has stepped up security across the city, with around 15,000 personnel and nearly 200 companies of paramilitary forces deployed for the event.“Police have been deployed in different sector zones across New Delhi. Drills have been conducted. CCTVs are being monitored. Meetings have been held with agencies… Our technical equipment has been installed so that any threat can be detected. We are ensuring that the public does not face any kind of inconvenience,” Sharma said.
