Modi meets Yunus for first talks since Hasina's exit

INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi held talks with Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus in Bangkok on Friday.

This was their first meeting since former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina was removed from office in 2024.

Hasina fled Bangladesh in August last year during large student-led protests and sought shelter in India.

Relations between the two countries, previously strong under Hasina, have since faced tensions.

Yunus, 84, took charge of Bangladesh in August 2024 after Hasina was ousted and flown out by helicopter.

India had been the main backer of Hasina’s government, and her removal affected bilateral ties.

Yunus made his first state visit as interim leader to China, which is India’s main regional rival.

Bangladesh has also moved closer to Pakistan in recent months amid the ongoing diplomatic rift.

There have been exchanges between senior officials from both sides, with New Delhi accusing Bangladesh of not doing enough to protect its Hindu minority. The interim government under Yunus has denied the allegations.

On Friday, Yunus posted a photo on social media showing him shaking hands with Modi. His press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, said the “meeting was constructive, productive, and fruitful.”

The meeting took place on the sidelines of a regional summit in Thailand. Yunus also shared a picture of himself and Modi from a decade ago, when the Indian leader presented him with a gold medal in 2015 for his contributions to micro-finance.

India's foreign ministry secretary, Vikram Misri, said Modi “reiterated India’s support for a democratic, stable, peaceful, progressive and inclusive Bangladesh.”

Modi also expressed his desire for a “positive and constructive relation with Bangladesh based on a spirit of pragmatism,” Misri added, while repeating India’s concerns over alleged atrocities against minorities.

Alam said Yunus raised the issue of former prime minister Hasina’s remarks from exile. Hasina, who remains in India, has not responded to extradition requests from Dhaka.

Bangladesh has asked India to extradite Hasina to face charges, including crimes against humanity and the killing of hundreds of protesters during the unrest.

Misri said the leaders discussed the extradition request but there was “nothing more to add” at the moment.

Yunus also raised issues of border violence and the sharing of river waters between the two countries, including the Ganges and the Brahmaputra. Misri said preventing illegal border crossings was also discussed.

Yunus’s caretaker government has been tasked with carrying out democratic reforms ahead of elections scheduled by June 2026.

Modi and Yunus had dinner on Thursday night with other leaders from the BIMSTEC regional bloc in Bangkok.

However, Friday’s meeting was their first formal bilateral interaction since the political changes in Bangladesh.

(With inputs from agencies)