No meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Adviser of the Interim Government of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus is expected on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok, Thailand which will take place on 3-4th April. It is learnt that a request has been made by Bangladesh for the meeting, but any structured bilateral meeting is difficult to materialize amid the strained ties. BIMSTEC has India, and Bangladesh as its members, along with Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar.
What is expected to be seen now if both the leaders have any informal conversation? Since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina govt on August 5th, no in-person meeting has happened between PM Modi and Md. Yunus, though both held telephonic conversations. During the telephonic conversation it was agreed that Yunus will virtually attend the Global South Summit hosted by India. At the political level, foreign ministers, EAM Dr S Jaishankar & Foreign Advisor Md. Touhid Hossain have met 2 times, first in New York last year, and then in Oman this year.
Ties remained strained over several anti-India comments coming from Dhaka and Delhi's concerns over the situation of minorities in the country. Dhaka has meanwhile raised the issue of Hasina's presence in India and demanded its extradition. Amid the strain in Delhi, and Dhaka ties, Yunus interim govt has made outreach to Pakistan and China. Yunus has met Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif several times now and will be travelling to China later this week.
PM Modi travels to Thailand from 3-4th April, after which he will be travelling to Sri Lanka from 5-6th April. During the Sri Lanka visit, he will be in Colombo and Anuradhapura, becoming the first foreign leader the new Dissanayake will host. Last year, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake chose India as his first foreign destination, with a key focus on economic cooperation, regional security, and cultural connectivity.