No country wishes Bangladesh well more than India, we hope it goes the right way, does the right thing: Jaishankar

India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday expressed concerns over recent turn of events  in Bangladesh and the support that the ruling dispensation is apparently giving to radical elements in the country while emphasising that New Delhi “wishes well” for its neighbour. Speaking on the day-2 of News18’s flagship Rising Bharat Summit 2025 in New Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam, he said the decades-old ties between India and Bangladesh are people-driven.

Jaishankar said, “No other country wishes well for Bangladesh more than India.”

His remarks came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser to the interim government Muhammad Yunus on the sidelines of the 6th edition of the Bimstec Summit in Thailand. Back then, PM Modi emphasised in his talks with Yunus on strengthening bilateral ties and expressed concerns over reports of attacks on religious minorities in Bangladesh.

On Wednesday, while commenting on the meeting, Jaishankar said, “I think the main messages from our side, which came out at the meeting, one, that our relationship with Bangladesh, for historical reasons, is very unique. It’s very fundamentally a people-to-people connection, much more so perhaps than any other relationship that I can think of. And that’s what we need to recognise.”

“Secondly, we have concerns about the rhetoric which is coming out of people in Bangladesh. We have concerns about the radicalising tendencies we see. We have concerns about the attacks on minorities. And I think we were very open about sharing those concerns,” he said.

Jaishankar emphasised that India is concerned about the situation in Bangladesh. “As a country, no country wishes Bangladesh well more than us [India]. That’s in our DNA. And as a well-wisher, as a friend, I think we hope that they go the right way and do the right thing,” he averred.

The foreign minister emphasised that he hopes Bangladesh holds elections soon. “As a country which has a democratic tradition, democracies require elections. That’s how mandates are given and mandates are renewed. So we hope that they go down that path,” Jaishankar said.

What happened at the meeting with Yunus and Modi

While holding talks in the Thai capital Bangkok, PM Modi shared four big messages to Yunus. This was the first time the two leaders came face to face after the ousting of deposed PM Sheikh Hasina in August last year following a violent protests.

According to Bangladeshi media, the meeting was requested by Dhaka in a bid to overcome tensions in bilateral relations after New Delhi expressed concerns over violence against minorities under Yunus’s watch.

The meeting also came close on the heels of Yunus’s visit to China, where he stirred a controversy by describing India’s Northeast as “landlocked” and positioning Bangladesh as the “guardian of ocean access” for the region.

The remarks drew condemnation from the region. During the meeting, PM Modi shared 4 big messages They were:

2. Inflammatory rhetoric should be avoided.

3. Concerns over the safety of minorities.

4. India supports democratic and progressive Bangladesh.

5. Constructive discussions

“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 wrote in a statement after the meeting.