"Apart from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa who are part of BRICS, our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited leaders from Bay of Bengal initiative for multi-sectoral technical and economic cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries," Sanjay Verma, the chief protocol officer of the ministry, was quoted as saying by the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS).
Verma added that bilateral meetings between the 11 participating leaders were expected to be held on the sidelines of the event.
BIMSTEC was established in 1997 and includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
BRICS summit that brings together heads of state of Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa is due to be held on October 15-16 in the Indian state of Goa. The upcoming event is expected to be attended by about 900 delegates.
