Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met the chief advisor to the Bangladesh government, Muhammad Yunus, in Thailand's Bangkok amid strained ties between the two countries.
The meeting between the two leaders was held on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were also present.
This was the first meeting between PM Modi and Yunus since the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina regime in August last year.
On Thursday, PM Modi and Yunus were seen seated together at the dinner hosted by Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra for leaders of the BIMSTEC grouping in Bangkok.
Yunus' office shared photographs of the Bangladesh Chief Adviser seated next to PM Modi at Hotel Shangri-La on the banks of the Chao Phraya River.
The interim government headed by Yunus took charge following the ouster of the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, and relations between India and Bangladesh hit rock-bottom 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.
The Prime Minister also suggested that Dhaka avoid “rhetoric that vitiates the environment,” weeks after Yunus' remarks on the Northeast drew sharp responses from Indian leaders, according to Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
The meeting in Thailand also reiterates “India’s support for a democratic, stable, peaceful and inclusive Bangladesh,” Misri said in a statement. He added that the Prime Minister had also underlined India’s desire to forge positive, constructive relationship with Bangladesh
(Courtesy: Agencies)
