PM Modi holds first talks with Bangladesh CA Yunus after Hasina exit

India-Bangladesh ties have been strained following reports of violence against Hindu minorities in Bangladesh and India's decision to grant asylum to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Adviser to the interim government of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus held a meeting on the sidelines of the sixth Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit in Bangkok on Friday. This interaction between the two leaders is the first since the removal of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from office on August 5 last year and comes amid ongoing tensions in bilateral relations between the two countries.

 

Ties between New Delhi and Dhaka have been strained due to alleged instances of violence against Hindu minorities in Bangladesh and India’s decision to grant asylum to Sheikh Hasina. Bangladesh had sought a formal engagement to ease tensions. However, Modi’s official itinerary for the visit to Thailand did not include any bilateral meeting with Yunus.

 

 

Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin had earlier expressed Dhaka’s willingness for a direct conversation. “From our side, we are fully ready for the meeting. Now, we await a positive response from India,” he said, acknowledging that while bilateral relations were under strain, they could improve through diplomatic engagement.

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Yunus’ China visit, controversial remarks

Recently, Yunus met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during an official visit to Beijing. During this trip, Yunus and Jinping signed nine agreements and urged China to extend its economic influence to Bangladesh.

 

In a now controversial statement, the Bangladesh chief adviser said, “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.” This statement further strained ties between the two nations.

 

 

 

 

Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Economic Advisory Council, responded to this statement in a video on X, saying, “Interesting that Yunus is making a public appeal to the Chinese on the basis that seven states in India are landlocked. China is welcome to invest in Bangladesh, but what exactly is the significance of seven Indian states being landlocked?”

 

The BIMSTEC Summit brings together leaders from South and Southeast Asia to discuss regional cooperation and economic partnerships. It includes seven countries: India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.