BANGKOK (AFP) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met yesterday with the leader of neighbouring Bangladesh, the first such meeting since a revolution in Dhaka ousted Sheikh Hasina and soured relations.
Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, 84, took charge of Bangladesh in August 2024 after Hasina was toppled as prime minister by a student-led uprising and fled by helicopter to India.
Yesterday, Yunus posted a picture on social media showing him shaking hands with Modi, and his press secretary Shafiqul Alam later said the “meeting was constructive, productive and fruitful”.
Their meeting took place on the sidelines of a regional summit in Thailand. Yunus also shared a photograph of the two men smiling as he handed Modi a framed picture of themselves a decade ago – when the Indian leader in 2015 honoured the micro-finance pioneer with a gold medal for this work supporting the poorest of society.
There was no immediate statement from New Delhi.
Hasina, who remains in India, has defied extradition requests from Bangladesh to face charges including mass murder.
Dhaka has requested that India allow Hasina’s extradition to face charges of crimes against humanity for the killing of hundreds of protesters during the unrest that toppled her government.
