Bangladesh
Hasina-Modi Meeting Sheikh Hasina-Narendra Modi bilateral meeting on March 27 in Dhaka
Dhaka, February 1: Dhaka has proposed to New Delhi to arrange a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Dhaka on March 27, Foreign Secretary Masood bin Momen said.
"Since the Prime Minister of India is scheduled to arrive here on March 25 or 26, we have proposed to hold bilateral talks on March 27," Masood told reporters at his office on Sunday after a bilateral meeting with Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla in New Delhi on Friday.
The foreign secretary said Modi would join the celebrations of the golden jubilee of Bangladesh's independence on the evening of March 26.
He said, "Indian Foreign Minister Jayashankar will visit Dhaka before the Prime Ministerial level talks." He mentioned that the visit could take place at the end of February.
The Foreign Secretary added that the Foreign Ministries of the two countries are currently working on 4-5 MoUs to be signed during the upcoming Prime Ministerial level talks.
"We expect significant input from the four secretarial meetings in our preparatory work on the MoU," he said.
During the Foreign Secretary level discussions between Bangladesh and India, the two sides discussed in detail the broad-based areas of ongoing cooperation between the two countries. They also discussed the joint celebration of the anniversary in certain capitals of the world.
In view of the historical significance of the Bangladesh Liberation War, Bangladesh requested the Indian side to consider Dhaka's proposal to rename the Nadia road from Mujib Nagar on the Bangladesh-India border as 'Swadhinata Road'.
The foreign secretary said the road could be inaugurated at a meeting at the prime ministerial level. The two prime ministers are also expected to inaugurate the Feni Bridge.
He said co-operation related to Covid-19 was discussed and thanked India for its timely support, especially for the vaccines.
During the talks, Bangladesh reiterated its request for the signing of the Teesta Water Sharing Agreement and assured that the matter was under consideration by the Indian side.
The two foreign secretaries stressed the need for co-operation between the border forces to reduce border killings to zero.
Masood said Dhaka and New Delhi are considering re-introducing tourist and student visas soon.
