A much-hyped meeting between the head of interim government of Bangladesh, Dr Muhammad Yunus, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi may take place on the sidelines of BIMSTEC summit scheduled for November.
Foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain made the comment Tuesday during a press conference regarding Bangladesh's participation in the UN General Assembly and contemporary issues.
He said he met with India's external affairs minister, S Jaishankar, in New York but could not arrange a meeting at the highest level because Prime Minister Modi had left New York the day before Chief Adviser Dr Yunus arrived.
Modi will not attend the Commonwealth summit scheduled for October 21-26 in Apia, Samoa, as he will be attending the BRICS summit instead, which is important for them.
Additionally, Dr Yunus will also not attend the Commonwealth summit.
Tauhid Hossain indicated that there could be a possibility next month during the BIMSTEC summit.
"Although the date is not finalized, it is expected to be in November, where there may be bilateral meetings," he told reporters.
The FS also mentioned that they would try to address mutual concerns through various levels of communication. The summit was initially scheduled for September.
The acronym BIMSTEC stands for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, and it includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand as members.
Established on June 6, 1997, with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration, BIMSTEC is the only sub-regional bloc which brings together five countries from South Asia and two countries from Southeast Asia. Together they account for 22 per cent of the world population, and combined GDP is $4.5 trillion.
Following a decision at its third Summit in 2014, the BIMSTEC Secretariat was established in Dhaka, in that same year, providing an institutionalized framework for deepening and enhancing cooperation.
Seven countries lead seven sectors - Bangladesh leads trade, investment and development, including blue economy. Bhutan leads environment and climate change, including mountain economy, while India leads security, including energy and disaster management. Myanmar leads agriculture and food security, including fisheries and livestock, Nepal leads people-to-people contact, including poverty alleviation, Sri Lanka leads science, technology and innovation, including health and human resource development, and Thailand connectivity.
After the summit, Bangladesh will assume chairmanship of the forum.
Responding to a question the foreign secretary said that the issue of Sheikh Hasina's extradition was not discussed in his meeting with this Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar, on the sidelines of the UNGA.
He also felt that the Indian visa centre will start functioning normally "very soon".
Responding to another question the foreign adviser said that if Pakistan could have the courage to apologise for what they did in Bangladesh in 1971, ties with them could be normal. But, at the same time, this was not an impediment to restoring normal bilateral ties with them as was evident in the last 52 years, the adviser said.
"But whenever we will have bilateral meeting, the issue of seeking apology will be raised by Bangladesh side," he added.
mirmostafiz@yahoo.com