Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus is scheduled to attend the Bimstec Summit, to be held on April 4 in Bangkok, raising hope for a first-ever in person meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines.
Preparations are underway and the Chief Adviser will definitely hold a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Summit, a diplomatic source told UNB, without elaborating further.
Though the two countries – Bangladesh and India – witnessed diplomatic tensions over a number of issues, there is still possibility that the two leaders can meet taking advantage of the Bimstec platform, said an official, adding that nothing is finalised yet.
The Chief Adviser has so far visited the United States, Egypt, Azerbaijan and Switzerland and will visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to attend the World Governments Summit 2025 to be held in Dubai on February 11-13.
Thailand will host the 6th Summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) and Bangladesh will take responsibility as the next chair of Bimstec there, officials said.
Thailand has taken over the Bimstec Chairmanship from Sri Lanka since 30 March 2022. Bimstec consists of seven member countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Bimstec Secretary General Indra Mani Pandey recently said the Summit will have some significant outcomes. “It will set a direction for the future of Bimstec,” he said.
Liberty News’ national correspondent report that the Bimstec Summit was earlier scheduled to take place on September 4 last year but it was deferred.
LND/Asura
