Neighbor first! India extends hand of friendship, invites Bangladeshi PM Tariq Rahman to BRICS summit, now Dhaka’s turn Neighborhood First! India extends a hand of friendship; invitation to Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman for the BRICS Summit—now it is Dhaka’s turn.

A very big news is coming out from the political and diplomatic corridors of South Asia at this time. India has taken a historic step by further strengthening its ‘Neighborhood First’ policy. The Government of India has officially invited Bangladesh’s newly appointed Prime Minister Tariq Rahman to attend the upcoming BRICS summit. After this very important diplomatic invitation sent by New Delhi, now the eyes of the whole world are focused on Dhaka to see how Bangladesh reacts to this. This step is being seen as a major exercise to take bilateral relations between the two countries into a new era.

New Delhi’s big message amid changing diplomatic equations

This is the first time after the recent major political changes in Bangladesh that India has had direct contact with the new leadership of Bangladesh at such a high level. Sending invitation to BRICS Summit to Prime Minister Tariq Rehman clearly shows that India does not want any kind of distance in its relations with this strategic neighboring country. Diplomatic experts believe that this step of New Delhi is a big and positive message towards trust building with the new government of Bangladesh, so that the common interests of both the countries can get security and stability.

Meaning of Bangladesh’s participation on BRICS platform

The BRICS organization has become an extremely powerful forum for global economy and diplomacy, which includes India, Russia, China, Brazil and South Africa along with many other emerging economies. India inviting Bangladesh to this prestigious forum means that New Delhi wants to strengthen Dhaka’s voice at the global level. If Prime Minister Tariq Rehman accepts this invitation and participates in the summit, it will open new avenues for bilateral dialogue between the two countries on important issues like trade, connectivity, digital infrastructure and regional security.

Eyes will be on joint trade and border security

There have been several sensitive challenges between India and Bangladesh such as Teesta river water sharing, cross-border trade, and infiltration. According to experts, this new beginning will not only give impetus to the trade corridors but this conversation will also prove to be very important for the security and stability of North-East India. Now it remains to be seen how warmly Dhaka holds this big diplomatic hand of India and what will be the direction of relations between the two countries in the coming days.