Khalilur Rahman assumed charge as President of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly on September 8, 2026, taking over the presidency of the world body’s annual session.
| Photo Credit: X/@UN
UN General Assembly President and Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman offered no word on whether Prime Minister Tarique Rahman would attend the BRICS Summit in India later this week, after New Delhi invited him to join an outreach session of the grouping.
India is hosting the annual BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, which is expected to deliberate extensively on a number of pressing global challenges, including the economic consequences of the West Asia crisis.
“I’m not here (in a) national capacity, so please forgive me… I will really ask all of you to ask me questions or approach me in my capacity as the President of the General Assembly. If there are bilateral issues, I’m still the Foreign Minister; I’ll speak to you separately,” Mr. Rahman said at a press briefing in the United Nations on Tuesday (September 8, 2026).
He was responding to a question by PTI on whether the Bangladeshi Prime Minister would participate in the BRICS summit.
Mr. Rahman assumed charge as President of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday (September 8, 2026), taking over the presidency of the world body’s annual session.
His remarks came amid uncertainty over Dhaka’s participation in the BRICS summit, which India is hosting as the grouping’s current chair.
India has invited Tarique Rahman to attend the summit’s outreach session in his capacity as the current chair of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation).
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The BIMSTEC is a regional grouping comprising India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan.
Bangladesh’s participation in the summit would be closely watched amid strained ties with India following New Delhi’s decision to provide political asylum to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to the country after her ouster in a youth-led uprising in August 2024.
Earlier on Tuesday (September 8, 2026), Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in New Delhi that there was no update to share on any confirmation from Dhaka on the Bangladeshi PM’s participation in the BRICS summit.
BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, with Indonesia joining in 2025.
It emerged as an influential grouping, as it brings together 11 major emerging economies of the world, representing around 49.5% of the global population, around 40% of the global GDP and around 26 per cent of the global trade.
Published – September 09, 2026 04:10 pm IST
