NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to meet the Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor to Bangladesh interim government, on the sidelines of the 6th BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) summit in Thailand on April 3-4.
April 4 will be the main summit day of the sub-regional grouping. Though the possibility of the meeting between Modi and Yunus is being explored, there is no official confirmation yet.
Modi will travel to Thailand for the summit, which was earlier slated for on September 3-4 last year but got postponed due to domestic political developments in the host country.
India is promoting BIMSTEC as a model regional organisation, after SAARC became largely inactive due to the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.
Ties between India and Bangladesh waded into choppy waters after the removal of Sheikh Hasina as the prime minister. Speaking at a public event on Sunday, just days after his meeting with Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Touhid Hossain in Muscat, foreign minister Jaishankar expressed concern regarding the interim administration’s hostile approach towards India and violence against minorities. “What is especially concerning is the ongoing attacks on minorities in Bangladesh. This impacts our viewpoint, and we have raised our concerns,” he said.
Jaishankar also responded to the Bangladesh government’s public criticism of India in the same event, describing it as contradictory and unproductive. “If officials from the interim government keep blaming India for all their problems, some of which are entirely unfounded, it sends a conflicting message.
On one hand, they claim to want good relations with us, but on the other, they continuously blame India for their domestic issues. This is a choice they must make,” the external affairs minister said.
BIMSTEC model regional grouping, says India
BIMSTEC consists of seven member countries: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. India is promoting BIMSTEC as a model regional grouping, after SAARC became largely inactive due to the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan