Bangkok, Apr 5: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus in Bangkok on Friday, their first meeting since the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August last year.The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Summit meeting of the leaders of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral and Technical Cooperation (BIMSTEC) grouping.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were also present during the meeting.
Bangladesh is the incoming chair of the BIMSTEC grouping.
Since the interim government headed by Yunus stepped in following the ouster of Hasina in August 2024, the ties between India and Bangladesh have seen a slump amid Delhi’s concerns over the violence targeting Hindus and a rise of hardline Islamist forces there.
During his visit to China last week, Yunus urged Beijing to extend its economic influence to Bangladesh, controversially mentioning that India’s northeastern states being landlocked could prove to be an opportunity.
Yunus said the seven northeastern states of India are a landlocked region and have no way to reach out to the ocean.
Calling Bangladesh the “only guardian of the ocean” in the region, he said this could be a huge opportunity and could be an extension of the Chinese economy.
The remarks didn’t go down well in India and Bangladesh officials have issued clarification on Yunus’ statement.
India is doing everything possible to assist the people of quake-hit Myanmar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday as he met the country’s Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and discussed bilateral ties.
Modi met Senior General Min, the head of Myanmar’s military government, on the sidelines of the Summit meeting of the leaders of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral and Technical Cooperation (BIMSTEC) grouping.
“Met Senior General Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok. Once again expressed condolences on the loss of lives and damage to property in the wake of the recent earthquake. India is doing whatever is possible to assist our sisters and brothers of Myanmar in this critical time,” Modi wrote on X.
We also discussed bilateral relations between India and Myanmar, particularly in sectors like connectivity, capacity building, infrastructure development and more,” he said.
The BIMSTEC grouping is a regional initiative involving countries in India’s neighbourhood.
India has launched Operation Brahma to help relief efforts in the earthquake-hit Myanmar, where a military coup in February 2021 brought Senior General Min to power.
Myanmar is considered a cog in the wheel for the success of BIMSTEC, whose key aim is to promote connectivity between the member nations.
All the key projects to connect the member nations pass through Myanmar where the local administration has little control in the different regions of the country.
The massive earthquake opened an opportunity for Myanmar to engage with the global comity of nations as it seeks humanitarian assistance to recover from the earthquake.
Over 3,000 people have died in the Myanmar earthquake, nearly 5,000 have been injured, and over 370 remain missing nationwide.
Senior General Min also attended an official dinner for leaders of the BIMSTEC nations that also includes Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
