PM Modi meets Yunus, flags concerns over safety of minorities in Bangladesh
Bangkok, Apr 4 (PTI): In his first meeting with Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged India's concerns over the safety of minorities, including Hindus, and conveyed that any rhetoric that vitiated the environment was best avoided.
During the 40-minute meeting that took place on the sidelines of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral and Technical Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit here, Modi also underscored India’s support for a democratic, stable, peaceful, progressive and inclusive Bangladesh.
At the meeting, Yunus also flagged the issues of the extradition of deposed Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina and border killings.
This was the first meeting between Modi and Yunus since Hasina's ouster in August last year. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were also present during the meeting.
The Prime Minister told Yunus that the strict enforcement of the law and prevention of illegal border crossings, especially at night, are necessary for maintaining border security and stability.
“Bangladesh has made a formal request regarding Sheikh Hasina. It will not be proper for me to say anything more on this matter,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told reporters here.
“Met Mr Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh. India remains committed to a constructive and people-centric relationship with Bangladesh,” Modi said in a post on X.
“I reiterated India's support for peace, stability, inclusivity and democracy in Bangladesh. Discussed measures to prevent illegal border crossings and expressed our serious concern for the safety and well-being of Hindus and other minorities,” the Prime Minister said.
Modi also enunciated India’s people-centric approach to the relationship, and said that cooperation between the two countries has brought tangible benefits to the people of both the nations.
“In this spirit, he underlined to Professor Yunus India's desire to forge a positive and constructive relationship with Bangladesh based on a spirit of pragmatism,” Misri said on Modi’s conversation with Yunus.
On the issue of attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, Modi said that he expected the Bangladeshi government to ensure their security and thoroughly investigate cases of atrocities against them.
The Prime Minister also congratulated Yunus on Bangladesh assuming the Chair of BIMSTEC and looked forward to the forum further advancing regional cooperation under its leadership.
“The leaders agreed to enhance consultations and cooperation to advance regional integration, including under the BIMSTEC framework,” an official statement said.
Modi also expressed his conviction that all issues of mutual interest between the two countries would continue to be addressed and resolved bilaterally through constructive discussions, in the interest of their long standing and mutually beneficial bilateral relationship.
Soon after the meeting, Yunus' official X handle posted a photo that showed the interim government chief presenting a photo to Prime Minister Modi. “The photo is about Prime Minister Narendra Modi presenting a gold medal to Professor Yunus at the 102nd Indian Science Congress on January 3, 2015,” the post on X said.
A student-led mass protest resulted in the ouster of Hasina's over 15 years of rule on August 5 last year. Three days later, Yunus assumed charge as the Chief Adviser of the Interim government.
Since then, the ties between India and Bangladesh have seen a slump amid Delhi's concerns over the violence targeting Hindus and a rise of hardline Islamist forces there.
During his visit to China last week, Yunus urged Beijing to extend its economic influence to Bangladesh, controversially mentioning that India's northeastern states being landlocked could prove to be an opportunity.
Yunus said the seven northeastern states of India are a landlocked region and have no way to reach out to the ocean. Calling Bangladesh the only guardian of the ocean in the region, he said this could be a huge opportunity and could be an extension of the Chinese economy.
A recent UN fact-finding report covered the period from July 1 to August 15 during the violent agitation by protesting students demanding Hasina’s ouster, followed by days of attacks on Awami League supporters and minorities, including Hindus. It estimated that as many as 1,400 people may have been killed, scores of them minorities, including Hindus, between July 15 and August 5 last year, and thousands injured.
Bangladesh has witnessed a resurgence of unrest since February this year.
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Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
