Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have sat for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, Thailand.

The meeting was confirmed through a Facebook post from the verified handle of Chief Adviser GOB at 12:10pm Friday.

"Chief Adviser has discussed all issues of our mutual interests. For example, renewal of the Ganges water treaty, Teesta water sharing, border killing," Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam told reporters in Bangkok.

"I would say the meeting was very constructive, productive and fruitful," he said.

Several photos show Yunus and Modi sitting across from one another with the delegations seated on each side of the room.

This marks the first in-person meeting between the two leaders since Prof Yunus took office. The talks come on the heels of a much-discussed visit by Yunus to China, which was closely observed by the Indian media.

Both leaders are attending the summit, which aims to enhance economic and strategic collaboration among member states.

The two leaders had previously met, along with other BIMSTEC leaders, at a dinner hosted by Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra last evening.

Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain met Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar twice -- once in New York in September last year and again in February in Oman. However, bilateral relations have remained strained.

India has repeatedly expressed concerns over alleged attacks on religious minorities in Bangladesh, which the Bangladeshi government has termed interference in its internal affairs and gross misrepresentation of isolated incidents.

Bangladesh has witnessed growing anti-India sentiment for different reasons, including Delhi's support for Sheikh Hasina during her 15-year rule. She fled to Delhi after losing power on August 5 last year.

New Delhi has not responded to Dhaka's request to extradite the former prime minister to face trial for killings during the mass uprising.

Meanwhile, the Indian High Commission in Dhaka has substantially reduced--initially suspended visa services completely which has been eased for certain visitors more recently--number of visas citing staff shortage.

Against this backdrop, the meeting between Yunus and Modi could serve as a confidence-building measure, even amid lingering concerns between the two nations on various issues, diplomatic sources said.

"We want to have a good relationship with India, a good working relationship," Adviser Touhid told the media recently.

Professor Yunus's remarks in China where he had mentioned Bangladesh as being the 'only guardian of the oceans' in the region and a conduit between the seven sisters and the sea set off alarm bells across the Indian media landscape over the last few days.

Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar's speech at BIMSTEC was in part, responding to the statements made by Bangladesh chief adviser, although no one was named in particular.