Dhaka Bureau: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is going to India on Friday (June 21) on a two-day state visit at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is the Prime Minister’s first bilateral visit to the state after the formation of the government through the January 7 parliamentary elections. Similarly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to hold the first bilateral meeting with Bangladesh after forming the government for the third term through the Lok Sabha elections in India. As a result, the tour shows signs of strong friendship towards each other.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will hold a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of India on Saturday (June 22). After that, he will also meet the President of India, Draupadi Murmu, and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. The Prime Minister will return home on Saturday.
The Prime Minister’s itinerary
The press wing of the Prime Minister said that the Prime Minister left for Delhi on a Bangladesh Airlines flight at 2 p.m. on Friday. He will have a courtesy call on Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Delhi in the evening.
Sheikh Hasina will be given a formal reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi on Saturday. He will then lay wreaths and sign the visitation book at Mahatma Gandhi’s mausoleum at Rajghat.
Then, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will hold a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House in Delhi. It is there that delegation-level discussions and MoUs will be signed and contracts exchanged between the two countries. The Prime Minister will visit the Secretariat of the Vice President of India on Saturday afternoon. After the meeting at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, he will return to Dhaka on Saturday night.
How many contracts?
According to sources in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 12 to 14 agreements and memoranda of understanding may be signed during Sheikh Hasina’s visit. Among these, some of the contracts or agreements that have expired will be renewed.
However, the issue of security will be more important in this meeting. The meeting will discuss the situation in Myanmar, the crisis in Rohingya and Manipur, China’s influence in the region, and overall security. Besides, the issue of the economic security of the country will also be important in the meeting. It is also said that there is a possibility of signing a memorandum of understanding to ensure the supply of India’s essential commodities to the country’s market.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen said, “Both countries want to advance their relations.” Therefore, this will also be discussed in the meeting between the prime ministers of the two countries.
A new proposal on Teesta
The meeting will also discuss increasing communication between India and Bangladesh. Along with this, the prime minister will also discuss issues like the common river and Teesta water sharing agreement and the complete cessation of border killings. The foreign secretary said that something new can be discussed in this meeting about Teesta.
He said, ‘The current stage of the Teesta agreement does not show that anything positive will happen very soon. But there is hope; recently, India has shown interest in development projects or conservation around Teesta. India is also interested in investing money in the Teesta project. Therefore, it is said that a new proposal may be made by India regarding the Teesta.
