
There is a "high possibility" of a meeting between Bangladesh's interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the 6th BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, a senior Bangladeshi official said as per news agency PTI.
Modi is scheduled to travel to Thailand on Thursday for a two-day visit, during which he will attend the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) summit and hold bilateral talks with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. The summit marks the first in-person gathering of BIMSTEC leaders since 2018.
Khalilur Rahman, High Representative to the Chief Adviser for the Rohingya issue and other matters, was quoted by the Dhaka Tribune as saying that Bangladesh has requested the meeting and "we have reasonable grounds to remain hopeful". The state-run BSS news agency also cited unnamed sources confirming the likelihood of the meeting. In New Delhi, sources told the news agency that a meeting had not been ruled out.
The anticipated meeting comes amid a diplomatic chill between the two countries since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina's government in August 2024. India has expressed concern over escalating violence against Hindus and the rise of hardline Islamist groups in Bangladesh.
During a recent four-day trip to China, Yunus courted controversy by stating that India’s northeastern states are landlocked and that Bangladesh, as the “only guardian of the ocean,” could be an economic extension for China. “The seven states of India, the eastern part of India, are called the seven sisters. They are a landlocked region of India. They have no way to reach out to the ocean,” Yunus said, adding that the situation presented a “huge opportunity.”
His remarks drew sharp criticism in India, with political leaders across the spectrum calling the comments “shameful” and “provocative.”
Addressing the backlash, Rahman said the statement had been misinterpreted. “He made the statement with honest intentions. If people interpret it differently, we cannot prevent it,” he said during a press briefing in Dhaka.
However, the prospect of a Modi-Yunus meeting has not been universally welcomed. BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta recently advised the prime minister against a one-on-one meeting with the Bangladeshi leader. “In my personal view, it would be judicious of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to avoid having any one-on-one meeting with Bangladesh’s chief adviser Mohammed Yunus. From all accounts, the fragile regime in Bangladesh will use any such meeting to prolong its own tenure,” Dasgupta said in a post on X.
At the summit, Modi will join leaders from Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar and Bhutan to oversee the signing of the BIMSTEC Agreement on Maritime Cooperation.