President of India Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have extended felicitations on the occasion of the National Day of Bangladesh with India reiterating its commitment to advancing partnership for peace, stability and prosperity. "We remain committed to advancing this partnership, driven by our common aspirations for peace, stability, and prosperity and based on mutual sensitivity to each other's interests and concerns," Modi said in a message to Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus. Modi extended his felicitations to Dr Yunus and the people of Bangladesh on the occasion of the National Day of Bangladesh. "This day stands as a testament to our shared history and sacrifices, that have laid the foundation of our bilateral partnership," said the Indian Prime Minister. He said the spirit of the Liberation War of Bangladesh continues to remain a guiding light for the relationship, which has flourished across multiple domains, bringing tangible benefits to our peoples. President Droupadi Murmu, in her message to Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin, said, "On behalf of the Government, the people of India and on my own behalf, I extend warm greetings and felicitations to you and to the friendly people of Bangladesh on the occasion of your National Day." Bangladesh, China to sign key deals as Dr Yunus to meet Xi in Beijing on March 28 She said Bangladesh-India relations are multi-faceted with our cooperation encompassing diverse areas such as trade, multimodal connectivity, development partnership, power and energy, education, capacity building, cultural cooperation and people-to people exchanges. The Indian President said Bangladesh is at the focus of India's "Neighborhood First" and "Act East" policies. "Our SAGAR doctrine and the Indo-Pacific Vision. India reiterates its support for a democratic, stable, inclusive, peaceful and progressive Bangladesh," she said.

India has not responded yet on Dhaka's request, seeking a meeting between Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, Thailand early next month. "No, there has been no response," said Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Sunday when a journalist asked whether there was any response from Delhi regarding the possible meeting of the two leaders. On Wednesday, Bangladesh approached India through the diplomatic channel to arrange a meeting between Dr Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Modi on the sidelines of the upcoming BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok. On March 21, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said they have no update to share regarding a likely bilateral meeting between the two leaders. “On the meeting that you asked, a bilateral meeting, I don't have any update to share at this point in time,” said MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal at a weekly briefing in New Delhi when a journalist wanted to know whether there was a likelihood of Prime Minister Modi meeting Chief Adviser of Bangladesh Prof Yunus on the sidelines of the Summit. The MEA Spokesperson also said Bangladesh-India relationship is a wide canvas and they have been engaged with Bangladesh on several issues - development cooperation, economic matters and on issues of connectivity. Dr Yunus' China visit to be very productive, successful with some announcements Dr Yunus is scheduled to pay a two-day visit to Thailand to attend the BIMSTEC Summit, to be held on April 2-4 in Bangkok. Thailand will host the 6th Summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and Bangladesh will take responsibility as the next chair of Bimstec there, officials said. Thailand has taken over the Bimstec Chairmanship from Sri Lanka since 30 March 2022. BIMSTEC consists of seven member countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. BIMSTEC Secretary General Indra Mani Pandey recently said the Summit will have some significant outcomes. "It will set a direction for the future of Bimstec," he said. Dr Yunus said Dhaka has always insisted that Bangladesh’s relationship with India will be the best relationship ever. Because, he explained, the fate of Bangladesh and India is tied together and they cannot be isolated from each other. “So, we are always encouraging everything to happen in the best possible way,” Dr Yunus told BBC in a most recent interview, adding that the clouds due to some fake news are not part of the relationship that the two countries enjoy. The Chief Adviser thinks Bangladesh and India have an excellent relationship. “We will continue to do it,” he said, describing India as a good business partner of Bangladesh.