Bangkok BIMSTEC Summit: Mohammad Yunus seen standing next to PM Modi on the stage

Bangkok: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Chief Advisor Mohammad Yunus may meet today on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Summit in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. However, so far there has been no official announcement from both the countries regarding any such meeting. If Yunus meets PM Modi, it will be the first time since the interim government took charge in Bangladesh after the fall of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government in August last year.

The two leaders attended the BRICS Summit dinner on Thursday (April 3, 2025) evening, where PM Modi was seated with Mohammad Yunus on one side and Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on the other. This potential meeting during the sixth BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok will be important, as tensions have been raging between Dhaka and Delhi for months over attacks on minorities in Bangladesh and Sheikh Hasina’s continued stay in India.

PM Modi to speak at BIMSTEC plenary session
During his visit to Beijing this week, Mohammad Yunus’s remarks regarding India’s northeastern region and Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh as ‘extensions of the Chinese economy’ have also raised doubts about the current policy of the interim government of Bangladesh in Delhi. PM Modi will speak at the plenary session of the BIMSTEC summit and hold bilateral talks with other heads of state present there. He will meet Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya and Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay before his visit to Sri Lanka on April 5-6.

Prime Minister Modi may also meet Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. This possible meeting will take place amid months of tension between the governments of the two countries over the delay in inviting Oli to visit India. Let us tell you that KP Sharma Oli first visited Beijing after not receiving an invitation from Delhi after coming to power in 2024. According to sources, a meeting is also proposed between PM Modi and the Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar military regime (junta), General Min Aung Hlaing. This will be the first high-level meeting of the Indian Prime Minister with the military regime there after the coup in Myanmar in 2021.

India’s Northeast region at the center of BIMSTEC: PM
While leaving for a two-day visit to Thailand for the BIMSTEC summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that ‘BIMSTEC has emerged as an important platform to promote regional development, connectivity and economic progress in the Bay of Bengal region, with India’s Northeast region at the center. I look forward to meeting the leaders of BIMSTEC countries and interacting constructively to further strengthen our cooperation keeping in mind the interests of our people. ‘

Speaking at the BIMSTEC Ministerial Conference on Thursday (April 3, 2025), External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that the construction of the highway between India-Myanmar-Thailand, when completed, will prove to be a game-changer for the region. The highway was first proposed in 2002 and construction began in 2012, but has been delayed mainly due to violence and instability in Myanmar. BIMSTEC, formed in 1997, comprises Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. It is seen as a bridge between the South Asian SAARC and Southeast Asian ASEAN groups.