Setting aside the tensions of the past eight months in their first meeting since the regime change in Dhaka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh’s Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus held talks on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC regional summit in Bangkok on Friday (April 4, 2025).
While both leaders raised contentious issues — including India’s call for the protection of minorities in Bangladesh, Dhaka’s demand for the extradition of former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, and border security issues — during the meeting that lasted about 40 minutes, they met on cordial terms and exchanged commitments to bilateral ties. Bangladesh will host the next BIMSTEC summit next year, and Mr. Modi congratulated Mr. Yunus for assuming its chairmanship.
The Modi-Yunus meeting on Friday (April 4, 2025) was held just after conclusion of the sixth summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, or BIMSTEC, a seven-nation grouping that links South Asia and South East Asia.
Meeting the neighbours
Mr. Modi also met with Myanmar junta commander and PM General Min Aung Hlaing for the first time since the military seized power in Myanmar in 2021, and Nepal PM K.P. Sharma Oli, who took office in July 2024, on the sidelines of the meeting in Thailand. All three leaders have chosen to visit China, while New Delhi has not issued invitations to them, due to tensions over a number of issues, and concerns over the legitimacy of the governments in Dhaka and Naypyitaw.
Mr. Modi expressed India’s support for a “democratic, stable, peaceful, progressive and inclusive Bangladesh”, and “urged that rhetoric that vitiates the environment is best avoided”, according to a statement on the Modi-Yunus meeting issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)
During talks with Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the Prime Minister “underlined the importance of early restoration of the democratic process in Myanmar, including through credible and inclusive elections”, the MEA said. The General thanked India for its assistance with ongoing relief efforts after devastating earthquakes hit Mandalay and other parts of the country last week.
Gen. Min’s invitation to the BIMSTEC summit was protested by the National Unity Government (NUG) led by Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD, that was deposed in a 2021 coup. “Continued engagement with the military junta will only embolden its violent oppression and worsen Myanmar’s humanitarian crisis,” the now in-exile NUG said in a statement.
Seeking invites to Delhi
Mr. Modi said in a social media post that his meeting with Mr. Oli had been “productive”. The two leaders discussed the “India-Nepal friendship, especially in sectors like energy, connectivity, culture and digital technology”, he said. However, neither side confirmed discussions on a Delhi visit by Mr. Oli, that has been pending despite several requests from Kathmandu, which Nepal Foreign Minister Arzu Rana had confirmed in an interview to The Hindu.
New Delhi and Dhaka gave no indication of whether Mr. Yunus — whose office had also told The Hindu about asking to visit India — had received an invitation from Mr. Modi either.
Safety of Hindu minorities
Briefing the media after the meetings, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that the Prime Minister had expressed concern over the “safety and security of minorities, including Hindus” who were targeted in the aftermath of Ms. Hasina’s departure from Dhaka amidst protests in August 2024.
“(The PM) expressed his hope that the (Bangladesh) government would fulfil its responsibilities with seriousness and ensure that these matters are properly investigated and addressed,” he added.
Hasina extradition request
Mr. Yunus’s spokesperson Shafiqul Alam said that the Bangladeshi interim leader had spoken about alleged human rights violations carried out by the Hasina government. He also asked New Delhi to respond to Dhaka’s request that Ms. Hasina be extradited to stand trial in Bangladesh, and to restrain her from making “false and inflammatory accusations”.
“We request that the Government of India take appropriate measures to restrain her from continuing to make such incendiary statements while she remains in your country,” Mr. Alam quoted Mr. Yunus as saying in the meeting, where he also raised the issue of alleged border killings by Indian security forces and hoped that they could be stopped.
The Bangladesh Chief Advisor’s office said that Mr. Yunus conveyed that Bangladesh “deeply values its relationship with India”, which is based on an “intertwined history”.
“We remain thankful for the unwavering support of the government and people of India during our most challenging time in 1971,” Mr. Yunus said, referring to Bangladesh’s liberation war. As a memento, Mr. Yunus, a Nobel Laureate and former economics professor, gifted Mr. Modi a photograph from a 2015 event when the Prime Minister had honoured him at the Indian Science Conference in Mumbai.
