Chief Adviser Prof Muhammed Yunus had shown interest in visiting India before travelling to China, but New Delhi did not respond positively to Dhaka's request, his Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam has said.

"We, in fact, showed our interest and asked the Indian side as early as in December last year for a bilateral visit of Chief Adviser Prof Yunus to India," Shafiqul told The Hindu newspaper of India on Tuesday.

"This was done weeks before his visit to China was finalised. Unfortunately, we didn't receive a positive response," he added.

Shafiqul also said Prof Yunus was keen to maintain warm ties with India.

The chief adviser travelled to China yesterday on a four-day visit. He will hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Following his China visit, Yunus will attend the BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok on April 3-4.

According to the press secretary, Bangladesh has submitted another request for a meeting between Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit, and is currently awaiting India's response.

Meanwhile, Modi wrote to Yunus yesterday, extending felicitations to the people of Bangladesh on the occasion of Independence Day.

Yunus's China visit is the second high-profile trip by a South Asian leader in recent months, reported The Hindu, following Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's visit to Beijing in December 2024.