There is no confirmation yet about interim government’s chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus’ meeting with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok of Thailand in the first week of April.
Foreign affairs adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Sunday said that Dhaka was yet to receive any response to its letter sent recently for a meeting of Yunus with Modi as the two leaders are going to attend the summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.
‘No, we have not received any response yet,’ the foreign adviser told reports at his office in the capital Dhaka.
Meanwhile, Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar reportedly told a meeting in New Delhi on Saturday that India was considering Bangladesh’s request for a meeting between Yunus and Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit, according to a report of The Hindu.
‘Bangladesh’s request for a meeting between its interim government’s chief adviser Muhammad Yunus and prime minister Narendra Modi at the upcoming BIMSTEC Summit is under consideration,’ Jaishankar is learnt to have told a parliamentary panel meeting in New Delhi, said the report.
At this year’s first meeting of the parliamentary consultative committee for external affairs on Saturday, several members of parliament raised concerns on attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, asking what steps was India taking in this regard,’ the Indian daily reported quoting unnamed sources.
They said Jaishankar informed the members that the interim government in Dhaka has claimed that the attacks on Hindus were ‘politically motivated’ and not ‘minority targeted’.
Jaishankar briefed the MPs on ties with Bangladesh, the Maldives, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. He said he would speak about Pakistan and China separately at a later date.
He indicated that prime minister Modi might attend the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok from April 2 to 4 in Thailand, but did not confirm the visit at the meeting.
He also informed the meeting that Modi would visit Sri Lanka next month.
Asked whether Modi is expected to meet Yunus and hold a bilateral meeting with him on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit, ‘Jaishankar remained non-committal saying it is under consideration,’ according to The Hindu report available online.
