Bangladesh says it's awaiting India's response to Yunus-Modi meeting proposal

Dhaka: Bangladesh on Tuesday said it was awaiting a response from India to its proposal for a meeting between Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok next week.

"From our side, we are fully ready for the meeting. Now, we await a positive response from India,” Foreign Secretary Md. Jashim Uddin said at a media briefing here, outlining the Chief Adviser’s forthcoming visits to China and Thailand.

Dhaka earlier sent a letter to India proposing a meeting between Yunus and Modi amid a strained bilateral relation after the August 5, 2024 regime change in Bangladesh when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 16-year Awami League regime was toppled and she virtually fled to India.

Modi and Yunus are likely to visit Thailand to attend the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit. Dhaka has proposed their meeting on the sidelines of the event.

Jashim Uddin acknowledged the existing “strain” in bilateral relations but said this could be overcome if a bilateral meeting is held between the two leaders.

Last week in Delhi, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said he had no update on any planned meeting between the two leaders.

Yunus will be in Bangkok to attend the BIMSTEC summit from April 2-4.

Ahead of the Bangkok visit, Yunus will travel to China on a three-day visit starting Wednesday to attend the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference in Hainan Province, a business summit nearly identical to the World Economic Forum conference in Switzerland.

The foreign ministry said Yunus was expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit during which the trans-border Teesta River reservoir issue might be discussed.

India earlier expressed its reservations regarding Chinese involvement in the project during the Hasina regime.   

"Teesta is not on the agenda of this visit. It is a matter of top leadership's will. However, water management is on the agenda, and there is a possibility that Teesta will come up during those discussions," the foreign secretary said.

 China has previously conducted a survey to assess the scope of the proposed 'Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration' project assumed to be at the invitation of the now-deposed Hasina regime. Later, Hasina said India could carry out the project since the river is shared by the two neighbours.

Jashim Uddin said that during Yunus’ China visit discussions were expected to be held on Myanmar's internal situation and the possibilities for Rohingya repatriation. The two sides also expected to ink agreements on human resource development, economic and technical cooperation, and increased media connectivity.

On military cooperation, the foreign secretary said there would be general discussions on security and potential purchases.

Responding to a question, he described China as a close friend of Bangladesh and said, “China also considers Bangladesh in the same way".