‘Seven Indian states are landlocked’: Bangladesh’s Yunus invites China to make ‘extension’

Bangladesh's interim government adviser Muhammad Yunus has raised a veiled threat to India as he invited China to make an “extension” of its economy in the region.

In a widely circulated video on social media, Yunus, who was on a four-day visit to Beijing last week, noted that seven Indian states are landlocked by Bangladesh.

"Seven states of India, in the eastern part of India, called seven sisters, are completely landlocked. They have no way to reach out to the ocean. We are the only guardian of the ocean for all this region,” he said.

Yunus further urged the Chinese government to set up an economic base in his country.

“This opens up a huge possibility. So this could be an extension of the Chinese economy. Build things, produce things, market things, bring things to China, bring it out to the whole rest of the world," he said.

India has not officially responded to Yunus’s remarks, but Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s economic advisory council, asked what the significance of the seven Indian states was in Bangladesh’s appeal to China for investments.

"Interesting that Yunus is making a public appeal to the Chinese on the basis that 7 states in India are land-locked. China is welcome to invest in Bangladesh, but what exactly is the significance of 7 Indian states being landlocked?,” he wrote on X.

Yunus returned to Dhaka on Saturday, wrapping up his four-day official tour to China during which he met President Xi Jinping and signed nine agreements with Beijing. Additionally, Bangladesh secured a commitment of USD 2.1 billion in investments, loans and grants from the Chinese government and its companies.

It's very important that we see China as our good friend, Yunus said during his visit, projecting Beijing as a balancing factor against New Delhi.