BIMSTEC Summit / Bangladesh PM is elated with Modi-Yunus meeting, what is it dreaming of now?

BIMSTEC Summit: An important diplomatic development was witnessed on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit held in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, when bilateral talks were held between Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Professor Mohammad Yunus, Chief Advisor of the first interim government of Bangladesh. This meeting, which lasted for about 40 minutes, has brought a new ray of hope amid the recent bitterness in the relations between the two countries.

BNP expressed positive response

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, General Secretary of Bangladesh's main opposition party BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party), termed this meeting as a positive step and said that "It is a matter of happiness that a sideline meeting took place during BIMSTEC. Given the current global and regional political perspective, this dialogue can be beneficial for both the countries."

He also added that both the leaders appeared serious about their respective views, which takes this meeting beyond a mere formality.

Hindu minorities and Sheikh Hasina issue at the center

According to sources, during this conversation, the attacks on the Hindu community in recent months in Bangladesh and issues related to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina were also discussed. This discussion was important from the point of view that this was the first high-level bilateral talks after the recent political turmoil in Bangladesh and the formation of the interim government.

CA (Chief Advisor) Press Secretary Shafikul Alam said that many important topics of mutual interest including the extradition of Sheikh Hasina were also discussed between the two leaders.

Efforts to bring relations back on track

Recent years have seen many ups and downs in the relationship between India and Bangladesh. Especially, when the relations between Bangladesh and China and Pakistan were seen to be close, then India's concern was natural. At such a time, this meeting is being seen as an initiative to bring the relations between the two countries back on track.

After the conversation, Professor Yunus shared pictures with Prime Minister Modi on the social media platform X, in which he was seen presenting an old memorable picture. He wrote, “Presenting a photograph to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during our bilateral meeting in Bangkok. This photograph is of Modiji presenting me with a gold medal at the 102nd Indian Science Congress on January 3, 2015.”

Indication of a new beginning

This meeting was not only a diplomatic signal but also a symbol of an emotional bond. The stability and mutual understanding that the citizens of both countries had been expecting for a long time is perhaps now moving towards taking a concrete shape.

It will be seen in the future whether this meeting will actually melt the ice of relations or not, but it is certain that this dialogue in Bangkok has definitely written the prologue to a new chapter in India-Bangladesh relations.