India on Tuesday said it invited Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to attend the outreach session of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi in his capacity as the current chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).India confirms invite to Bangladesh PM for BRICS event amid Hasina row. (AP)External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the invitation to Rahman was in line with the established practice of inviting heads of regional organisations to BRICS outreach sessions."As far as the BRICS summit is concerned, India has separately extended an invitation to the Bangladesh prime minister in his capacity as the current chair of BIMSTEC to attend the outreach session of the 18th BRICS Summit," Jaiswal said in a press briefing.ALSO READ | India slams PoK polls as ‘complete farce’, says 90 killed since June by Pakistani forces in region"The invitation has been extended as per the standard practice being followed in BRICS for the outreach sessions. Other heads of regional groups have also been invited in a similar manner," he added.BIMSTEC is a regional grouping comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. This is aimed at promoting regional cooperation across multiple sectors in the Bay of Bengal region.When is the BRICS summit?The 18th BRICS summit will be held in New Delhi on September 12 and 13. Leaders are expected to discuss key global issues, including the economic fallout of the ongoing crisis in West Asia.India is hosting the summit as the current chair of the grouping.Who will attend the BRICS summit in India?Several world leaders are expected to participate in the summit. These include Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.Originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, BRICS expanded in 2024 with the inclusion of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Indonesia joined the group in 2025.India has also invited leaders from several non-BRICS countries to participate in the summit's outreach session.The expanded bloc represents around 49.5% of the world's population, nearly 40 per cent of global GDP and about 26% of global trade, according to the MEA.