Dhaka–New Delhi multilateral relations that suffered a heavy blow after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina- the most trusted partner of the Indian government, stepped down on August 5, 2024 through mass revolution-- are expected to get a boost after Dr Yunus-Modi meeting in Bangkok, sources in Dhaka and New Delhi said.

The political and security issues still dominate Dhaka–New Delhi relations over social and economic issues since the ouster of dictator of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024, said diplomats, policy makers and business leaders.

Sources said that the India will have a natural expectation of protection and promotion of Hindu communities and Indian investment, smooth transit to northeast part of India over Bangladesh and a halt in rise of religious groups and less intensity with Pakistan and China.     
Bangladesh will have expectation of getting justified share of water of 54 rivers, stop border killings, issuance of Indian visa at previous level and stop of Indian propaganda against the Bangladesh.

Sources said as the duration of the meeting is expected to be around half an hour on the sidelines of the Sixth Bimstec Summit in Bangkok, both leaders are likely to show positive gesture to reach the bilateral relations to a new height.

Meanwhile, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Bimstec Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, on 4 April, officials in Dhaka and Delhi confirmed on Wednesday.

This will be their first in-person meeting since the formation of interim government led by Yunus on 8 August last year.

The chief adviser is scheduled to leave for Bangkok on 3 April to attend the Summit.

The chief adviser will also hold bilateral meetings with other Bimstec leaders on the sidelines.

Earlier, Bangladesh approached India through the diplomatic channel to arrange a meeting between Dr Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Modi on the sidelines of the Summit.

Thailand will host the 6th Summit of Bimstec in Bangkok, and Bangladesh will take responsibility as its next chair on 4 April.

Dhaka, New Delhi and Bangkok are working on the planned sidelines of the summit that can discuss 1/2 issues of border killings, water sharing, visa complication, protection of minority, intervention of neighbouring  countries and transit to Nepal and Bhutan.

Political pundits are expecting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi can invite Chief Adviser of Bangladesh Dr Mohamamd Yunus  to visit his country that will certainly give a positive signal to break the ice between  existing relations of two neighboring countries

Secretary General of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) Indra Mani Pandey has said Bangladesh, as the next chair of the regional organisation, will have an opportunity to "re-demonstrate to the world" its commitment to regional cooperation by leading the organisation with broader initiatives.

Bangladesh has long been seeking Indian transit to enter Nepal with view to increasing connectivity with Nepal. Despite high –level political dialogues and talks, the issue remains pending over the years.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization that was established on 06 June 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration. Initially known as BIST-EC (Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperation), the organisation is now known as BIMSTEC and comprises seven Member States with the admission of Myanmar on 22 December 1997, and Bhutan and Nepal in February 2004. On 06 June 1997, representatives of the Governments of Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand came together in Bangkok, and signed the ‘Declaration on the Establishment of the Bangladesh–India–Sri Lanka–Thailand Economic Cooperation (BIST-EC)’

The Declaration which was signed by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, Abul Hasan Chowdhury, the Minister of State of the Republic of India Saleem Iqbal Shervani, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka D.P. Wickremasinghe, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand Pitak Intrawityanunt later came to be known as the ‘Bangkok Declaration’.

The main aim of the regional group was the promotion of economic cooperation between countries bordering the Bay of Bengal. With Myanmar joining on 22 December 1997, the group was renamed BIMST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand Economic Cooperation), and with the admission of Nepal and Bhutan during the 6th Ministerial Meeting in Thailand in July 2004, the grouping was renamed during the First Summit in Bangkok on 31 July 2004 as the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

Being a sector-driven grouping, cooperation within BIMSTEC had initially focused on six sectors in 1997 (trade, technology, energy, transport, tourism, and fisheries) and expanded in 2008 to incorporate agriculture, public health, poverty alleviation, counter-terrorism, environment, culture, people-to-people contact, and climate change. Subsequently, following steps to rationalize and reorganize sectors and sub-sectors, cooperation was reorganized in 2021 under the following sectors and sub-sectors led by the respective Member States.

Inhabitants of BIMSTEC countries have a common interest in environment, culture, people-to-people contact, and climate change that political leaders of these countries have not worked out properly in the last 28 years.

Meanwhile, India's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has reaffirmed India’s commitment to maintaining a strong relationship with Bangladesh and stated that India always aims for strong ties with its neighbors.

He made these remarks during an exclusive interview with Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) recently.

"We always strive to maintain good relations with our neighbors because, as former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said, ‘We can change our friends, but we cannot change our neighbors.’ Therefore, we want to maintain a strong relationship with Bangladesh," said Rajnath Singh.

The statement comes amid political shifts in Bangladesh. On August 5, the Awami League government, led by Sheikh Hasina, stepped down following mass student protests, and an interim government under Dr. Muhammad Yunus took charge.

Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin said the summit will further "strengthen and deepen" the relationship between Bangladesh and other Bimstec member states and will play an important role in advancing regional peace and development.

The summit, the Bimstec headquarters said, has a rich agenda - adoption of the declaration of 6th Bimstec Summit, which will reflect the vision of the leaders as well as their decisions and directives; adoption of the Bangkok Vision 2030.

This is the first vision document which will be adopted by the Leaders. It provides a comprehensive and practical roadmap for future cooperation amongst the Bimstec member States.

Signing of the agreement on Maritime Transport Cooperation aims at expanding maritime transport in Bay of Bengal with a view to enhancing transport of cargo as well as people enabling more trade and travel amongst the member States.

Meanwhile, signing of the Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) between BIMSTEC and Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), and Bimstec and United Nations Office on

Drugs and Crime (UNODC), are part of agenda which will herald a new era of developmental partnerships between Bimstec and these organisations.

Meanwhile, Bangladeshi patients spend 2.00-3.00 US dollars in medical expenses in different hospitals in India per year. India has squeezed the regular visa process since July 2024 with no sign of normalizing this year, sources in Dhaka, Kolkata, Bombay and New Delhi said. 

Meanwhile, since the ouster of dictator Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024, the India-Bangladesh relations show no sign of improvement as India has restricted issuing visa to Bangladeshis on national security ground, sources in Dhaka and New Delhi.

Spokesperson of India's foreign ministry Randhir Jaiswal  responding to a question of an Indian  reporter said the High commission of India in Bangladesh will start issuing visa at normal speed after law and order situation improves in Bangladesh and conducive situations prevail.

On the matter of visas for Bangladeshis, Jaiswal said limited visa operations were on, with medical and emergency visas being given.

Former Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA and incumbent President of the Bangladesh Economic Enterprise (BEI) M Humayun Kabir while talking to the correspondent said that New Delhi should understand the mindset of the Bangladesh youth in relations with Dhaka in the new perspective.

Shahidus Sadeque, Director Operations at Holiday Inn Dhaka City Center, while talking to this correspondent said he needs to visit India to have treatment of his wife at the Indian hospital.

Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin recently said the strain that is there in the relations between Bangladesh and India could be overcome if the meeting is held between Prof Yunus and Narendra Modi.

Indian Prime Modi greeted Chief Adviser Yunus and wished the people of Bangladesh on the ocassion of Eid-ul-Fitr, seeking stronger friendship between the two countries.

"May the bonds of friendship among our countries grow stronger," Modi said in his message shared by chief adviser's press wing on Monday night.

As the blessed month of Ramadan comes to a close, Modi said he takes this moment to extend warm greetings and felicitations to Dr Yunus and the people of Bangladesh on the joyous occasion of the festival of Eid al-Fitr.

Bangladesh sees this year's Bimstec Summit, scheduled to be held in Bangkok, Thailand on 4 April, "very important" for the country as it will assume the chairmanship of the grouping for the next two years.

Dhaka also thinks the summit will provide them with an opportunity to present a "just and inclusive" Bangladesh in South and Southeast Asia, officials said this week.

The 6th Summit of the Heads of State/Government of the member States of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) will be preceded by a meeting of BIMSTEC Foreign or External Affairs Ministers on April 3.

Prior to this year's Bimstec Summit, the chief adviser will deliver a keynote speech at the forum titled "BIMSTEC Young Generation Forum: Where the Future Meets" on 3 April.

The theme of the 6th summit, which is being held three years after the 5th summit (Virtual, Colombo, 30 March 2022), is "Prosperous, Resilient, and Open Bimstec".

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between Bangladesh and India--led by Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin respectively--- held on December 9, 2024 was presumed to ease the visa complication. But the visa process has not been improved, rather complicated to cause sufferings to poor and middle-class patients and businessmen.

Bangladesh’s tourist arrivals in India during the concluded year 2024 dropped by 20 per cent compared to the previous year 2023  amid political rift between two neighbouring countries .

USA topped the top tourist arrivals with 18.14 per cent, followed by Bangladesh with 17.57 per cent, UK 10.28 per cent, Australia with 5.20 and Canada with 4.78 per cent.

However, during the month of December 2024, a total of 53,495 Bangladeshis visited India, perhaps the lowest in the last 20 years, sources said.

According to the Tourism Board of India, a total of 16,96,735 Bangladeshi tourists visited India in 2024 as against approximately 2.12 million Bangladeshi tourists visited India in 2023.