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A much-hyped Yunus-Modi meet is likely tomorrow (Friday) in Bangkok on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit being held in the Thai capital with trade and security high on agenda.
Chief Adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh Prof Muhammad Yunus leaves Dhaka today (Thursday) to attend the 6th Summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
The summit meet of the dormant sub-regional bloc is being held under the theme 'Prosperous, Resilient, and Open BIMSTEC', according to a release from the BIMSTEC Secretariat.
"This summit is important for Bangladesh as it will take the chairmanship of the BIMSTEC for next two years from this event," says foreign secretary Joshim Uddin in a prelude to the meet.
Leaders of all the the BIMSTEC-member countries have confirmed their presence, but the attendance of Myanmar's junta leader Gen Min Aung Hlaing remains unclear after a massive earthquake in his country.
Officials of the foreign ministry in Dhaka were so far unsure about the proposed bilateral meeting between head of the interim government Prof Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit. But latest developments indicate a thaw in the chill following the changeover in Bangladesh.
"We requested India to hold this talk (between the leaders of two countries)...there is enough possibility of holding this meeting," Dr Khalilur Rahman, high representative of the CA, told a press briefing here Wednesday ahead of the BIMSTEC Summit.
Replying to a question, Dr Khalil said the leaders of BIMSTEC-member states will discuss its future works with the Bangladesh chief adviser, so there is a scope for meeting between Prof Yunus and Narendra Modi.
"We have enough reasons to be hopeful of this meeting," he told reporters.
The high representative said the Chief Adviser would also hold bilateral talks with the leaders of other BIMSTEC states.
The summit is preceded by a meeting of BIMSTEC Senior Officials held on April 2 and a meeting of BIMSTEC Foreign or External Affairs Ministers on April 3. Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain started for Bangkok Wednesday to attend the ministerial meet.
The forum's last summit was held in 2022 in Colombo through virtual platform.
