Formal Modi-Yunus meet unlikely at Bimstec summit | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
May 29, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2025
Formal Modi-Yunus meet unlikely at Bimstec summit

Foreign Policy

Hindustan Times
21 March, 2025, 07:20 am
Last modified: 21 March, 2025, 07:20 am

Related News

  • CA Yunus seeks Japan's Nippon Foundation's support to resolve Rohingya crisis
  • Bangladeshi peacekeepers continue to uphold Bangladesh's global image: CA Yunus
  • Election in Bangladesh by June next year, Yunus tells Japan's Taro Aso
  • ‘Want Yunus in power for five years’ slogan used in Facebook ads to boost page engagement: Report
  • CA Yunus in Tokyo to join Nikkei Forum, hold bilateral talks

Formal Modi-Yunus meet unlikely at Bimstec summit

India has not yet responded to Bangladesh’s request to extradite Hasina, who has been named in a raft of criminal cases in her country for charges ranging from extrajudicial killings to enforced disappearances and crimes against humanity

Hindustan Times
21 March, 2025, 07:20 am
Last modified: 21 March, 2025, 07:20 am
Dr Muhammad Yunus and Narendra Modi. Photo: Collected.
Dr Muhammad Yunus and Narendra Modi. Photo: Collected.

PM Modi and Bangladesh's Yunus may meet at the Bimstec Summit, but tensions make a formal meeting unlikely despite a request from Dhaka.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh interim government Chief Muhammad Yunus will likely cross paths at next month's Bimstec Summit in Thailand, but a formal meeting on the margins of the event is unlikely, people familiar with the matter said yesterday (20 March).

Modi and Yunus are set to attend the summit of the regional grouping being held in Bangkok during 3-4 April. Bangladesh's de facto Foreign Minister Touhid Hossain confirmed on Thursday that Dhaka has made a formal request for a meeting on the margins of the summit. This will be the first time that Modi and Yunus will be attending the same multilateral event.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

The current state of the bilateral relationship is not conducive to a meeting between the top leadership of the two countries, three people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. The grounds have not been prepared for such a meeting, especially given the friction and acrimony in ties, they added.

"An encounter or exchange of pleasantries cannot be ruled out as all the leaders attending the summit will be in each other's company on several occasions, but nothing more is expected," one of the people said.

 "A formal meeting looks difficult, especially when there is a fresh barrage against India from some member of the interim government in Dhaka almost on a daily basis. These conditions are not conducive to a meeting," a second person said.

On Thursday, Bangladesh's de facto foreign minister Hossain told ANI: "We have made a diplomatic approach to India to hold a bilateral meeting between our two leaders at the sidelines of the Bimstec Summit."

The summit of the The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec), which groups Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand, is being held in Bangkok at a time when ties between New Delhi and Dhaka are at an all-time low.

India recently reiterated its concerns about the interim government's handling of attacks on Bangladesh's Hindus and other minorities, the deteriorating law and order situation and release of violent extremists from jail. Bangladesh has its concerns about the presence in India of former premier Sheikh Hasina, for whom it has submitted an extradition request, and differences on a range of issues such as sharing of waters of cross-border rivers and fencing of the international border.

Last September, the Bangladeshi side sought a meeting between Modi and Yunus on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York. HT first reported on 18 September that Modi would not meet Yunus in New York.

India has not yet responded to Bangladesh's request to extradite Hasina, who has been named in a raft of criminal cases in her country for charges ranging from extrajudicial killings to enforced disappearances and crimes against humanity. Hasina fled to India after stepping down on 5 August 5 last year and India's leadership has said she was granted approval to come to the country at short notice.

Hasina has been largely incommunicado while in India, and is understood to be currently living in a safe house in New Delhi. Hasina's online speeches to activists of her Awami League party have also angered Yunus and other leaders of the interim government.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar met Hossain on the margins of the Indian Ocean Conference in Oman on 16 February and discussed bilateral ties and cooperation within the Bimstec format. This meeting was the first high-level contact between the two countries since Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri travelled to Dhaka last December for the annual foreign office consultations.

Top News

Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus / Narendra Modi / BIMSTEC

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • How termination of USDA-funded trade facilitation project will affect Bangladesh
    How termination of USDA-funded trade facilitation project will affect Bangladesh
  • File photo of Bangladesh Secretariat. Photo: Collected
    Visitors banned from entering Secretariat on Mondays and Thursdays
  • File photo of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. Photo: Collected
    Asked for roadmap, govt didn’t give in 10 months, now 'December it is': Mirza Fakhrul

MOST VIEWED

  • Google Pay. Photo: Collected
    Google Pay likely coming to Bangladesh soon
  • Graphics: TBS
    Suspicious banking activities surge by 56% since July: Cenbank
  • Representational image of cable car/Freepik
    Cable car to be installed from Himchari to Reju Khal in Marine Drive Road
  • Illustration: TBS
    Bangladesh sees highest-ever per capita income of $2,820 in FY25, BBS provisional data shows
  • IFIC Bank receives Tk6,000 cr in new deposits in six months
    IFIC Bank receives Tk6,000 cr in new deposits in six months
  • Abdul Awal Mintoo, chairman of National Bank Limited. Sketch: TBS
    'Regulatory support must for National Bank to restore depositors' confidence'

Related News

  • CA Yunus seeks Japan's Nippon Foundation's support to resolve Rohingya crisis
  • Bangladeshi peacekeepers continue to uphold Bangladesh's global image: CA Yunus
  • Election in Bangladesh by June next year, Yunus tells Japan's Taro Aso
  • ‘Want Yunus in power for five years’ slogan used in Facebook ads to boost page engagement: Report
  • CA Yunus in Tokyo to join Nikkei Forum, hold bilateral talks

Features

In recent years, the Gor-e-Shaheed Eidgah has emerged as a strong contender for the crown of the biggest Eid congregation in the country, having hosted 600,000 worshippers in 2017. Photo: TBS

Gor-e-Shaheed Boro Maath: The heart of Dinajpur

2d | Panorama
The Hili Land Port, officially opened in 1997 but with trade roots stretching back to before Partition, has grown into a cornerstone of bilateral commerce.

Dhaka-Delhi tensions ripple across Hili’s markets and livelihoods

3d | Panorama
Photo: Collected

Desk goals: Affordable ways to elevate your study setup

3d | Brands
Built on a diamond-type frame, the Hornet 2.0 is agile but grounded. PHOTO: Asif Chowdhury

Honda Hornet 2.0: Same spirit, upgraded sting

3d | Wheels

More Videos from TBS

The fight between two brothers; Adidas vs Puma

The fight between two brothers; Adidas vs Puma

6h | Others
Trump is again keen to make Canada the 51st state

Trump is again keen to make Canada the 51st state

7h | Others
Trump's tariff strategy and Europe's investment politics, violence or negotiation?

Trump's tariff strategy and Europe's investment politics, violence or negotiation?

8h | Others
Rumours surrounding the Club World Cup: Which club will Ronaldo join?

Rumours surrounding the Club World Cup: Which club will Ronaldo join?

9h | Others
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net