PM Narendra Modi, Bangladesh's Yunus seated together at official dinner in Thailand
Earlier The Prime Minister and his External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar took separate veiled potshots at Bangladesh interim government head Muhammad Yunus on Thursday by reiterating the importance of India’s northeastern region in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) architecture.
Prime Minister Modi and Bangladesh's interim government Chief Adviser, Yunus, were seen sitting side by side at an official dinner hosted by Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra ahead of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) summit.
In a shocker last week during his visit to China, Yunus had claimed that Bangladesh is the sole guardian of the ocean in its region on the grounds that the seven northeastern states of India are landlocked and had invited China for an “extension” of its economy in the region through building and marketing products.
In his departure statement on Thursday morning from New Delhi before embarking for Thailand to attend the sixth Bimstec summit, Modi said in his message:
“With its geographical location, India’s northeastern region lies at the heart of Bimstec. I look forward to meeting the leaders of the Bimstec countries and engaging productively to further strengthen our collaboration with interest of our people in mind.”
The Prime Minister said, "From Thailand, I will pay a two day visit to Sri Lanka from April 4-6. This follows the highly successful visit of President (Anura) Disanayaka to India last December… I am confident that these visits will build on the foundations of the past and contribute to strengthening our close relationships for the benefit of our people and the wider region.”
Dr Jaishankar, batting for cooperation among all member nations of the grouping at the 20th Bimstec ministerial meeting in Bangkok on Thursday ahead of the Friday summit, reiterated the importance of India’s northeastern region for connectivity within Bimstec and warned against “cherry-picking” in what is being seen as a jibe at Dhaka and Mr Yunus.
In his remarks at the meeting, the foreign minister said, “India is aware of its special responsibility in regard to Bimstec. We, after all, have the longest coastline in the Bay of Bengal, of almost 6,500 km. India shares borders not only with five Bimstec members and connects most of them but also provides much of the interface between the Indian sub-continent and Asean."
Dr Jaishankar said:
"Our northeastern region in particular is emerging as a connectivity hub for the Bimstec, with a myriad network of roads, railways, waterways, grids and pipelines. Furthermore, the completion of the trilateral highway will connect India’s Northeast all the way to the Pacific Ocean, a veritable game-changer.
"We are conscious that our cooperation and facilitation are an essential pre-requisite for the smooth flow of goods, services and people in this larger geography.
Keeping this geo-strategic factor in mind, we have devoted increasing energies and attention to the strengthening of Bimstec in the last decade. We also believe that cooperation is an integrated outlook, not one subject to cherry picking.”
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