Bangladesh PM Hasina begins 4-day visit to India

PTI, Sep 5, 2022, 4:01 PM IST

Image courtesy: AFP

New Delhi: Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived here on Monday on a four-day trip to expand overall ties between the two countries.

Hasina will hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday following which the two sides are likely to unveil a raft of measures to boost cooperation in areas of defence, trade and river-water sharing.

The Bangladesh PM was received at the airport by Union minister Darshana Jardosh.

”Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina is warmly welcomed by MoS Railways and Textiles @DarshanaJardosh on her arrival in New Delhi for a State Visit. The visit will further strengthen the multifaceted relationship between the two countries,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.

On Thursday, the Bangladeshi prime minister is scheduled to travel to Ajmer in Rajasthan to visit the Dargah of the revered Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti.

Hasina’s delegation comprises Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan, Liberation War Minister AKM Mozammel Haq and Mashiur AKM Rahman, the economic affairs advisor to the PM.

The Bangladesh prime minister will call on President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Hasina last visited New Delhi in October 2019.

Last month, India and Bangladesh finalised the text of the agreement on interim sharing of the water of the Kushiyara river.

The MoU is set to be inked on Tuesday.

The text of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) was finalised at the 38th ministerial-level meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) that took place in Delhi on August 25.

India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers, of which seven were identified earlier for developing a framework of water-sharing agreements on priority.

The overall strategic ties between India and Bangladesh have been on an upswing in the last few years.

In March last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Bangladesh to attend events organised to mark the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 50 years of the war of liberation of that country.

In reflection of close ties, India also hosted a number of events to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1971 war that led to the liberation of Bangladesh The two prime ministers have met 12 times since 2015.