Modi and Yunus discuss minority safety, Hasina extradition and border tensions
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus raised several disputes during their first meeting since the change of government in Dhaka. India pressed for protection of minorities, while Bangladesh sought Sheikh Hasina’s extradition and action over alleged border killings and statements made from India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus discussed minority safety, the extradition of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and border tensions during a 40-minute meeting on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok on April 4, 2025. It was the leaders’ first meeting since the change of government in Dhaka. Despite the disagreements, both sides described the engagement as cordial and expressed support for maintaining bilateral ties.
According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Mr. Modi voiced concern about the safety and security of minorities, including Hindus, who were targeted after Ms. Hasina left Bangladesh amid protests in August 2024.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said Mr. Modi urged the Bangladeshi government to investigate and address these matters seriously. Mr.
Modi also expressed support for a “democratic, stable, peaceful, progressive and inclusive Bangladesh” and said rhetoric that worsened the environment should be avoided. Bangladesh is due to host the next BIMSTEC summit. Mr.
Yunus’s spokesperson, Shafiqul Alam, said the Bangladeshi leader raised alleged human-rights violations by the Hasina government. He also asked India to respond to Dhaka’s request for Ms. Hasina’s extradition to face trial in Bangladesh.
Mr. Alam said Mr. Yunus urged India to restrain Ms.
Hasina from making what Dhaka described as false and inflammatory accusations while she remained in India. The Bangladeshi side also raised alleged killings along the border by Indian security forces and expressed hope that they would stop. The Chief Advisor’s office said Bangladesh continued to value its relationship with India, referring to the countries’ intertwined history and India’s support during Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation war.
Mr. Yunus gave Mr. Modi a photograph from a 2015 event at which the Prime Minister had honoured him.
The meeting took place after the sixth BIMSTEC summit. In separate discussions, Mr. Modi met Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing and Nepal’s Prime Minister K.P.
Sharma Oli. India told Myanmar it supported restoring a democratic process through credible and inclusive elections.
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