https://arab.news/8tnkx
- Relations between the South Asian neighbors deteriorated since Sheikh Hasina fled the country
- Former premier fled to New Delhi in August following violent protests against her rule
BANGKOK: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the leader of neighboring Bangladesh, India’s government said Friday, the first such meeting since a revolution in Dhaka ousted New Delhi’s long-term ally.
Mod’s meeting with Bangladesh’s interim leader, Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, took place on the sidelines of a regional summit in Thailand.
Yunus posted a picture on social media showing him shaking hands with Modi.
The two men had dinner on Thursday night alongside other leaders from the BIMSTEC bloc in Bangkok, but the bilateral sit-down on Friday was the first since relations frayed between the neighboring nations.
Yunus took charge of Bangladesh in August 2024 after India’s old ally Sheikh Hasina was ousted as prime minister by a student-led uprising and fled to New Delhi.
India was the biggest benefactor of Hasina’s government, and her overthrow sent relations into a tailspin.
Tensions between India and Bangladesh have prompted a number of tit-for-tat barbs between senior figures from both governments.
Hasina, who remains in India, has defied extradition requests from Bangladesh to face charges including mass murder.
The caretaker government of Yunus is tasked with implementing democratic reforms ahead of fresh elections slated to take place by June 2026.