Bangkok: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on the margins of the BIMSTEC summit Friday, ThePrint has learnt. Modi is also likely to meet the prime minister of Nepal K.P. Oli and the head of the junta in Myanmar Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
A person familiar with the matter confirmed that these three meetings are on Modi’s schedule. The Indian prime minister arrives in Bangkok Thursday for a two-day visit to Thailand, which includes a bilateral meeting with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
The bilateral meet with Yunus will be the first one between the two leaders. The Nobel Laureate assumed power in Bangladesh following the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024. Ties between New Delhi and Dhaka have since soured, with India wary of attacks against minorities, especially Hindus, in Bangladesh, as well as a number of growing challenges over border fences and sharing of water.
Dhaka has consistently raised the issue of “malicious news” emanating from India, as well as Hasina’s continued presence and political activities from New Delhi. Most recently, Yunus claimed that Bangladesh is the “only guardian” for the ocean in the region as India’s Northeast is “landlocked”, while urging Chinese firms to invest in the South Asian nation.
New Delhi hoped that Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s visit to Dhaka in December 2024 would have reset ties. However, that has seemingly not been the case.
Modi and Yunus are also set to interact during the official events of the BIMSTEC summit.
Apart from the bilateral with Yunus, Modi is also set to meet with Oli, which would be his second meeting with the Nepal PM, following their interaction on the margins of the United Nations Summit of the Future last September. Oli has been under pressure due to the pro-Monarchy protests, which turned deadly in the Himalayan nation last week.
While Oli is yet to visit India, he did visit China for four days in December 2024, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other senior officials. Both Yunus and Oli have visited China before India in a break of tradition.
The third bilateral for Modi Friday is likely to be with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. The junta has been in control of the country following a coup d’etat in February 2021, which has led to a civil war in Myanmar.
The country faced a devastating earthquake of the magnitude 7.7 last week. India carried out Operation Brahma, a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mission to Myanmar, as a part of its role of a first responder in the region.
Before departing for Bangkok, Modi said, “I look forward to meeting the leaders of the BIMSTEC countries and engaging productively to further strengthen our collaboration with the interest of our people in mind.”
Following his visit to Thailand, Modi will depart for Colombo for a three-day visit to Sri Lanka at the invitation of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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