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Foreign secretary hopes the meeting will pave the way for improved bilateral ties
Published : 25 Mar 2025, 09:19 PM
The proposed meeting between Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit could help ease the ongoing “stagnation” in bilateral relations, Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin has said.
He, however, added that the interim government is still “waiting for a positive response” from Delhi to the diplomatic note sent requesting the meeting.
Speaking at a press briefing on Monday about the interim prime minister’s visit to China and the forthcoming BIMSTEC summit, the foreign secretary said: “We consider any high-level meeting with any country important, and in the current context of our relation with India, we are giving special attention to this meeting."
He also highlighted Bangladesh's preparation for the meeting. “From our side, we are ready for the meeting, and we are awaiting a positive response from India.”
The sixth BIMSTEC summit, which will focus on economic cooperation among the seven Bay of Bengal countries, is scheduled to take place from Apr 2 to 4 in Thailand.
Yunus and Modi are expected to attend, with Dhaka having sent a message to Delhi hoping for a meeting between the two leaders.
Last week, Foreign Advisor Touhid Hossain told Indian news agency ANI: "We have diplomatically reached out to India to arrange a meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit."
After Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India on Aug 5, 2024, an interim government led by Yunus was formed three days later.
Since then, two opportunities for Yunus to meet Modi have arisen, but they did not materialise.
Another chance has now emerged due to the BIMSTEC summit.
The sixth summit of the regional group was initially scheduled for September 2024, but was delayed until November due to political instability in Thailand.
The possibility of a meeting between Yunus and Modi was also discussed at that time.
Earlier, in September, there had been talks about a possible meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in the United States. That meeting, however, did not happen either.
The foreign advisor explained the reason during a press conference on Sept 21, 2024.
“It has been learned that the Indian prime minister will leave New York before Chief Advisor Yunus arrives. Therefore, it seems unlikely that the two will meet there.”
At that time, some Indian media outlets cited “an interview” with Yunus as the reason for the meeting not taking place.
Citing sources familiar with the communication between the two countries, the Hindustan Times said: "In the context of different comments made by Yunus in an interview with an Indian news outlet, it seems that the meeting will not take place. New Delhi did not take Yunus' remarks well."
A potential meeting between Yunus and Modi also came up in October 2024, during the Commonwealth Summit in Samoa, but neither leader attended the event.
The chief advisor is expected to attend the summit in Thailand’s Bangkok on Apr 4.
On Apr 3, Touhid will attend the ministerial meeting preceding the summit.
