The much-expected meeting between Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok tomorrow.

"There are enough possibilities for the meeting," said Khalilur Rahman, chief adviser's high representative for the Rohingya issue and other priorities, at a press briefing yesterday.

Yunus will leave Dhaka this morning for the 6th BIMSTEC summit, which will be attended by the heads of the member states -- Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Thailand, the current chair of BIMSTEC, will hand over the chairmanship to Bangladesh tomorrow.

"As Bangladesh will be the next chair of BIMSTEC, we are expecting all leaders of member states to take the opportunity to discuss BIMSTEC activities for the future with Yunus. It is normal. So, the possibility of a meeting [with Modi] is high," Rahman said.

The Daily Star has learnt from foreign ministry officials involved with the proceedings that the meeting has been confirmed, and the details were being worked out.

The meeting may not be structured as a bilateral one but a courtesy one, said another diplomatic source in New Delhi.

Bangladesh earlier sent a letter to India seeking a meeting between the two leaders, Rahman said.

A meeting between the two leaders could not be held in New York in September last year as the schedule did not overlap.

However, Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain sat with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at the 79th UN General Assembly there.

In February, Hossain and Jaishankar met on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Conference in Oman.

The two countries also held official-level meetings on bilateral relations, water sharing and border cooperation.

In response to a question on any implications of Yunus's China visit on Dhaka-Delhi relations, Rahman said: "This is not a zero-sum game. We will try our best to engage all where and when we can. We want to go ahead with all, not excluding anyone."

About the summit, Rahman said that though the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) was not able to achieve much over the last 25 years, Dhaka was expecting to boost regional connectivity and economic collaboration under the leadership of Bangladesh.

Apart from attending the summit on April 4, Yunus will deliver a keynote at the BIMSTEC Young Generation's Forum. He will be returning to Dhaka that evening.

The last summit was held three years ago, virtually in Colombo on March 30, 2022.

The theme of the 6th Summit is "Prosperous, Resilient, and Open BIMSTEC".

It aims to foster collaboration among the member states to address the shared security and developmental challenges and realise the goal of a prosperous, resilient and open BIMSTEC.

The summit agenda includes the adoption of the Declaration of the 6th BIMSTEC Summit; Bangkok Vision 2030; Rules of Procedure for the BIMSTEC Mechanisms; and Report of Eminent Persons Group on the Future Direction.

The agenda also includes signing of the Agreement on Maritime Transport Cooperation, which aims at expanding maritime transport in Bay of Bengal with a view to enhancing transport of cargo as well as people to enable more trade and travel among the member states, and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) between BIMSTEC and Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), and BIMSTEC and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, according to the BIMSTEC headquarters in Dhaka.

Bangladesh and Thailand will also sign a bilateral deal on preventing and fighting corruption.

This is the first time some focused areas of cooperation have been identified for the BIMSTEC region, and Bangladesh hopes for practical initiatives to be taken, Rahman said.

"We hope for the return of peace in Myanmar, and we can do a lot through regional cooperation," he said, noting that in the wake of global economic issues, the smaller countries need to collaborate for their own interests.

Asked if the Rohingya crisis would be discussed, Rahman said it was not supposed to be discussed in BIMSTEC as per its charter.

"That does not mean we will remain fully silent. We will try to engage various parties. I keep engaged with them. Rohingya repatriation is the ultimate solution.  Our goal will be to make progress in this effort," he added.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has called upon BIMSTEC member states to extend full cooperation in ensuring the timely finalisation of six key constituent agreements on trade in goods under the Framework Agreement.

The agreements are on the rules of origin, assistance in customs matters, dispute settlement procedures and mechanisms, trade facilitation, investment, and trade in services.

Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin made the call while leading a five-member Bangladesh delegation to the 25th session of the BIMSTEC Senior Officials' Meeting in Bangkok yesterday.

Senior officials finalised the draft Provisional Agenda and draft Report of the 20th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting, which is set to take place today. Additionally, they completed the drafts of the provisional agenda and declaration for the Sixth BIMSTEC Summit.

Jashim Uddin highlighted the progress made in the sector of "Trade, Investment, and Development, including Blue Economy", for which Bangladesh serves as the Lead Country.

Stressing the significance of a BIMSTEC Free Trade Area, he said its realisation was crucial for the collective economic progress of the region.