Bangladesh and India are likely to sign a number of agreements and MoUs focusing on water management, defence, railway, science and technology; and information and broadcasting during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's India visit opening new "windows of cooperation" between the countries, officials said, reports UNB.
The prime minister leaves for New Delhi on Monday on a four-day state visit at the invitation of her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
Issues related to security cooperation, investment, enhanced trade relations, power and energy sector cooperation, water sharing of common rivers, water resources management, border management, combating drug smuggling an human trafficking are likely to get priority during the talks between PM Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at the Hyderabad House, a senior official told the media.
The visit is seen as significant amid the Ukraine crisis, global economic downturn and ongoing Covid-19 pandemic as the two South Asian neighbors seek enhanced cooperation to overcome the challenges, he said.
Hasina will visit India after three years since she last visited in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. The visit is significant for both Bangladesh and India, said the government of Bangladesh.
The visit will further strengthen the multifaceted relationship between the two countries based on strong historical and cultural ties and mutual trust and understanding, said the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
The prime minister will lead a high-level delegation which includes several ministers, advisers, state ministers, secretaries and senior officials.
Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, Railways Minister Md. Nurul Islam Sujan, PM’s economic affairs adviser Dr Mashiur Rahman, PM’s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid and State Minister for Water Resources Zaheed Farooque are among the delegation members,
Representatives from business bodies of Bangladesh will also accompany PM Hasina. Hasina is also scheduled to attend a business event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries.
The prime minister will be formally received by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi while a ceremonial guard of honour will be accorded to her. She will pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.
During her visit, PM Hasina will meet Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar apart from holding bilateral consultations with her Indian counterpart Modi at the Hyderabad House.
Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will call on PM Hasina, said the Ministry of External Affairs. Hasina is also likely to visit Ajmer.
The Bangladesh prime minister is also scheduled to attend a lunch to be hosted by her Indian counterpart.
She is expected to award the Mujib Scholarship, an initiative of the Bangladesh government, to the descendants of 200 Indian Armed Forces personnel who were martyred and critically injured during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.
In recent years, both sides have sustained a high level of engagement, including at the highest level, MEA said.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
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