In a possible turnaround for ties, Modi and Yunus to meet in Bangkok

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh chief advisor Muhammad Yunus.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Bangladesh Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus on Friday (April 4, 2025), for the first time since the interim government took charge after the ouster of former PM Sheikh Hasina last July. The meeting, on the side-lines of the BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok, Thailand, is significant as it follows months of tensions between Dhaka and Delhi over attacks on minorities and Ms. Hasina’s continued stay in India.

Sources in both capitals confirmed the meeting will take place around noon on Friday (April 4, 2025).

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The two leaders are expected to meet informally on Thursday (April 3, 2025) at a reception hosted by Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

Ahead of his departure for the two-day visit to Thailand for the regional summit, Mr. Modi said he would meet his counterparts without any specific mentions of which leaders he would meet.

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“I look forward to meeting the leaders of the BIMSTEC countries and engaging productively to further strengthen our collaboration with interest of our people in mind,” the statement read.

Mr. Modi is also expected to meet Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli, after months of tensions with the government in Kathmandu over a delay in inviting Mr. Oli for a visit. In a break from the past, both Mr. Oli and Mr. Yunus have visited Beijing first in the absence of an invitation to Delhi.

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The Hindu reported earlier this week that Bangladesh had requested a visit and Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Jashimuddin had confirmed a request for a Modi-Yunus meeting in Bangkok.

The sources said a meeting between PM Modi and the Myanmar junta regime PM Min Aung Hlaing is also on the cards but not confirmed. The meeting would be another first such engagement with Myanmar junta government that seized power in 2021. India has launched Operation Brahma to assist Myanmar with relief after a devastating earthquake last week in which more than 3,000 have been killed.