Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Bangladesh’s Interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Friday. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, Thailand. Significantly, this was their first face-to-face meeting since Sheikh Hasina’s removal from office.

Since last year, Bangladesh has faced ongoing unrest. Violent protests erupted across the country. Meanwhile, Sheikh Hasina took refuge in India, which led to diplomatic tensions. As a result, Dhaka demanded her extradition so she could face corruption charges.

Yunus shared updates on X after the meeting. His office posted, “Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus and Indian Prime Minister @narendramodi join a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of sixth BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday.”

Yunus Raises Key Concerns

During the meeting, Yunus discussed several issues with Modi. These included:

• The delayed Teesta water treaty

• Hasina’s stay in India

• Recent border clashes, which led to deaths

Notably, the Teesta River is a shared water source between India and Bangladesh. However, the water-sharing deal has been stuck for over a decade. One major obstacle has been West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s opposition to many proposals.

To mark the moment, Yunus gave Modi a framed photograph. It showed Modi presenting him a gold medal during the 102nd Indian Science Congress in 2015.

Profsssor Muhammad Yunus is presenting a photo to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their bilateral meeting in Bangkok on Friday. The photo is about Prime Minister Narendra Modi presenting a gold medal to Professor Yunus at the 102nd Indian Science Congress on January 3, 2015 pic.twitter.com/lsikvMOWT4

— Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh (@ChiefAdviserGoB) April 4, 2025

Later in the day, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is expected to brief the media. Officials will share more about what the two leaders discussed.

Tensions Ahead of the Meeting

Interestingly, both leaders were seated next to each other at the BIMSTEC leaders' dinner the night before their meeting. However, days before this, Yunus stirred controversy with a remark. He said,“Northeast India is landlocked and Dhaka is the only guardian of the ocean for all this region.”

Naturally, Indian leaders criticized this statement. In response, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar addressed it during the 20th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting. He said,“Our Northeast region in particular is emerging as a connectivity hub for the BIMSTEC, with a myriad network of roads, railways, waterways, grids and pipelines. The completion of the Trilateral Highway will connect India’s Northeast to the Pacific Ocean, a veritable game-changer.”

He added,“We are conscious that our cooperation and facilitation are an essential prerequisite for the smooth flow of goods, services and people in this larger geography. Keeping this geo-strategic factor in mind, we have devoted increasing energies and attention to the strengthening of BIMSTEC in the last decade. We also believe that cooperation is an integrated outlook, not one subject to cherry-picking.”

Dhaka Requested the Talks

For weeks, Bangladesh had been pushing for this bilateral meeting. Officials in Dhaka sent several requests to New Delhi. However, India did not confirm anything beforehand. Finally, the meeting happened quietly and was revealed only afterward.