Dhaka, Sept. 16 -- India has said that despite extending two separate invitations to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman for an official visit, it has not heard back from Dhaka.

Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs, made the comments on Tuesday.

He was questioned by reporters over Tarique's absence from the BRICS summit, despite receiving an invitation in his capacity as chairman of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation).

The 18th BRICS summit was held in New Delhi on Sept 12 and 13, attended by heads of government or representatives from 28 countries.

In response to a query from news agency ANI, Jaiswal said: "We had invited the prime minister of Bangladesh...