Dhaka optimistic about Yunus-Modi talks in Bangkok: Foreign secretary

Dhaka is optimistic about the potential talks between Bangladesh Chief Adviser, Prof Mohammed Yunus and Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on the sideline of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok scheduled for Thursday.

Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin said this while briefing the media in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, on Wednesday.

“We are optimistic about the talks and we are still hatching efforts,” he said when the BIMSTEC Summit was kicked-off in Bangkok on Wednesday.

The talks are crucial, as a rift developed in the bilateral relationship between the two neighboring countries following the fall of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government through a mass upsurge on 5 August last year.

Soon after the safe exile of Sheikh Hasina, India began spreading misleading information about Bangladesh and went on various controversial moves on the Bangladesh-India border that jeopardised the bilateral relationship between the two brotherhood neighbors.

Amid these circumstances, talks between the two key leaders are crucial for the sake of peace and stability and trade and commerce for both sides.

The BIMSTEC member countries—Bangladesh, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand—are set to meet the table to discuss a range of issues, including strengthening bilateral relationships among the member states.