• Source:JND
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Bangkok: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Bangladesh's interim government chief Muhammad Yunus in Thailand on Friday amid strained ties. The meeting came on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok marking the first such bilateral meeting between the two leaders after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in August last year. The details of the meeting are yet to be made public. The meeting with Yunus came days after his controversial statement regarding seven sister states and his request to the Chinese President for expansion near the Chicken's corridor triggered a political row in New Delhi. 

Relations between the South Asian neighbours, which were robust under Hasina, has deteriorated since she fled the country in August in the face of massive student-led protests and sought shelter in India.

PM Modi, Bangladesh's Yunus attend BIMSTEC dinner in Bangkok

Earlier last night, PM Modi and Yunus, sat side by side during the official dinner hosted by Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra for the visiting Heads of State and Heads of Government attending the BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok. The official X handle of the Chief Advisor of the Government of Bangladesh posted screen grabs of both leaders sitting side by side at the dinner table as the Thai PM welcomed the BIMSTEC leaders.

Local media in Bangladesh quoted Chief Advisor's Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad as saying that both leaders "met each other" during the official dinner. The interim government has been keen on holding the first-ever bilateral talks between the two leaders on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok.

Bangladesh requested India for bilateral meeting

The BIMSTEC chairmanship will be officially handed over to Bangladesh on Friday. Chief Advisor's High Representative on Rohingya and Priority Issues Khalilur Rahman said on Wednesday that the leaders of BIMSTEC member states will discuss their future works with Yunus and there is a scope to hold the meeting between Yunus and PM Narendra Modi. "We requested India to hold this talk (between the leaders of two countries)...there is enough possibility of holding this meeting," Rahman said, addressing a press briefing in Bangladesh ahead of the BIMSTEC Summit in Thailand.

PM Modi's letter to Yunus

Last week, PM Modi wrote a letter to Yunus on the occasion of the National Day of Bangladesh, highlighting the significance of mutual sensitivity while referring to the Bangladesh Liberation War as a "shared history". "We remain committed to advancing this partnership, driven by our common aspirations for peace, stability, and prosperity, and based on mutual sensitivity to each other's interests and concerns," wrote PM Modi.

Sheikh Hasina's ouster

New Delhi has been worried about the deteriorating law and order situation in Bangladesh under the current interim government. The Yunis regime has been criticised severely for acquitting extremist elements and exonerating many Islamists since the fall of the Awami League government led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.

"We support a stable, peaceful, inclusive and progressive Bangladesh in which all issues are resolved through democratic means and by holding inclusive and participatory elections. We remain concerned about the deteriorating law and order situation, which has further been exacerbated by the release of violent extremists who were sentenced for serious crimes," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal has stated on several occasions.

Grim situation in Bangladesh

As Bangladesh slid into the abyss following the fall of the Awami League government, the Yunus-led regime has been accused of giving a free hand to the Islamist forces in the country and also relaxing comprehensively the policy of mandatory security clearance required for Pakistani citizens seeking visas, thus facilitating the easy return of many notorious terror suspects who had earlier fled to the safe havens in Pakistan. With no end still in sight to attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, particularly on members belonging to the Hindu and Ahmadiyya communities, the MEA has repeatedly highlighted the serious issue and the interim government's botched up investigations that have so far been just an eyewash.

(With inputs from agency)

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