New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh’s chief advisor, Muhammad Yunus, were seated together at a dinner held on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, on Thursday evening.
Modi was welcomed by Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who also greeted the Heads of State and Government attending the BIMSTEC Dinner in Bangkok.
During the event, the Prime Minister was positioned between Yunus and Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. This gathering occurs against a backdrop of strained relations between New Delhi and Dhaka following the removal of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5 of the previous year.
Request for Bilateral Meeting
The two countries have experienced heightened tensions due to disagreements over reported violence against Hindu minorities in Bangladesh and India’s decision to provide asylum to Sheikh Hasina.
Dhaka had sought a bilateral meeting during the BIMSTEC Summit to address these issues; however, Modi’s itinerary in Thailand did not include this meeting.
According to news agency PTI, Modi is expected to meet with Yunus on Friday during the BIMSTEC proceedings.
“From our side, we are fully prepared for the meeting. Now, we await a positive response from India,” stated Bangladesh’s foreign secretary, Md. Jashim Uddin. He acknowledged the current “strain” in bilateral relations but expressed optimism that it could be resolved through a meeting between the two leaders.
Yunus on India’s Northeast
The tensions in bilateral relations appear to have intensified following Yunus’s comments regarding India’s northeastern states during his attendance at the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference in China.
Yunus suggested that China should expand its economic influence in Bangladesh, noting that the landlocked nature of India’s northeastern states could present an opportunity. His remarks, reportedly made during a four-day visit to China, gained attention on social media on Monday.
The seven northeastern states of India, collectively known as the “seven sisters,” are situated in a landlocked area with no direct access to the ocean, as noted by Yunus. He referred to Bangladesh as the “sole guardian of the ocean” in this region, suggesting that this presents a significant opportunity for economic expansion, potentially extending the influence of the Chinese economy.
This statement drew criticism from various leaders within India’s ruling party, the BJP. During a recent meeting of foreign ministers from BIMSTEC, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar appeared to respond to Yunus’s comments.
He emphasized that the northeastern region is increasingly becoming a hub for connectivity within BIMSTEC, supported by an extensive network of roads, railways, waterways, grids, and pipelines. He also highlighted India’s “special responsibility” regarding BIMSTEC.
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization comprising seven nations from South Asia and Southeast Asia, with a combined population of 1.73 billion and a total GDP of US$5.2 trillion. Thailand currently holds the chairmanship of this group. The ongoing summit marks the first in-person gathering of leaders since the 4th BIMSTEC Summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal, in 2018.
