Bangladesh urges India to extradite Hasina in first Yunus-Modi meeting

Bangladesh has reiterated its call for the extradition of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina during Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus's first bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the BIMSTEC summit.

The long-anticipated meeting between the leaders of the neighbouring countries took place on the sidelines of the summit in Thailand's Bangkok on Friday, according to state news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS).

The talks lasted over half an hour and covered a range of key issues, including the extradition of Hasina, who fled to India after her government was toppled by a mass uprising last year. They also discussed Hasina's provocative statements from India, border killings, and the distribution of Teesta River water, according to Yunus's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam.

“The meeting between the heads of government of Bangladesh and India was highly productive and successful. All issues of mutual interest were discussed,” he told BSS.

Hasina was ousted from power on Aug 5, 2024, following a student-led mass uprising. She fled to India the same day. Three days later, an interim government led by Yunus took charge. Since then, relations between the two countries have been fraught due to various issues.

Since the transition, there were two opportunities for Yunus to meet Modi, but neither materialised. As a result, there had been mounting speculation about whether the meeting would take place at the BIMSTEC Summit.

Earlier on Thursday, the two leaders had a brief exchange during the formal BIMSTEC summit dinner in Bangkok, where they were seen conversing closely for some time.