Biden-Modi conversation: No mention of Bangladesh in White House statement

US President Joe Biden called India Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. During their conversation the two leaders discussed the ‘Bangladesh issue’, Modi said in a tweet from his X handler.

The foreign ministry of India also said that the Bangladesh issues came up in the conversation. However, there is no mention of Bangladesh related issues in the statement published by the White House regarding the phone conversation.

According to the diplomatic observers, usually the key issues which came up in the discussions among the top leaders are reflected in the official statements. Therefore, the issues mentioned in the official statements are assumed as the agenda of the discussion. If one side does not agree to an issue raised by the other side, then the issue is usually omitted from the official statements.

The White House statement said, “President Biden spoke today (Monday) with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India to discuss the Prime Minister’s recent trip to Poland and Ukraine, as well as the United Nations General Assembly meetings in September.”

It further states the president commended the prime minister for his historic visits to Poland and Ukraine, the first by an Indian prime minister in decades, and for his message of peace and ongoing humanitarian support for Ukraine, including its energy sector.

The leaders affirmed their continued support for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in accordance with international law, on the basis of the UN Charter.

“The leaders also emphasised their continued commitment to work together, including through regional groups like the QUAD, to contribute to peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” it added.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Ali Riaz, distinguished professor of the Department of Politics and Government at Illinois State University, said, “Conventionally, any phone conversation between two top leaders is mentioned in the official statements. So the phone conversation between Joe Biden and Narendra Modi came up in the official statement. However, there have been questions regarding the credibility of the statement from Narendra Modi and India regarding Bangladesh as there is no mention of it in the statement of the White House.”

Narendra Modi wrote on his X (former Twitter) handle, “Spoke to Joe Biden on phone today. We had a detailed exchange of views on various regional and global issues, including the situation in Ukraine. I reiterated India’s full support for early return of peace and stability. We also discussed the situation in Bangladesh and stressed on the need for early restoration of normalcy, and ensuring the safety and security of minorities, especially Hindus, in Bangladesh.”

The statement from the Indian foreign ministry reads, “The two leaders expressed their shared concern over the situation in Bangladesh. They emphasised restoration of law and order and ensuring safety and security of the minorities, particularly Hindus, in Bangladesh.”

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Michael Kugelman, director of Wilson Centre South Asia Institute said, “I assume there are differences in the point of views of India and the US regarding Bangladesh. The US doesn’t agree with the way India is trying to portray the Bangladesh situation. Therefore, the US doesn’t want to put as much importance on the issue as India.”

According to the diplomatic analysts, the US sees the fall of the Awami League government as an inevitable outcome. The US is keen to provide all-out assistance to the interim government of Bangladesh led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus. In contrast, India couldn’t take the regime change normally.

Speaking to Prothom Alo over the phone, Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Securities president Major General (retd) ANM Muniruzzaman said, “The statement from the White House following the phone conversation between the two top leaders of India and the US seems to be informative. The Bangladesh issue was not relevant to the topic that they were discussing. As a close neighbour, we expect more information based and realistic statements from the top leadership of India.”