Highlights:
- PM Modi to take a foreign visit for the first time since COVID-19 outbreak
- PM Modi will visit Bangladesh after Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina invited him
- PM Modi last visited Bangladesh in 2015
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the neighbouring country of Bangladesh on the 27th and 27th of March and it will be his first international visit since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), on Tuesday, made an announcement on Modi’s visit to the neighbouring country after he was invited by the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
It said, “This visit is in connection with the commemoration of three epochal events — Mujib Borsho, the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman; 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Bangladesh; and 50 years of Bangladesh’s war of liberation”.
The last time Modi visited Bangladesh was in 2015.
During his visit, the Indian Prime Minister will be attending the National Day programme of Bangladesh which will be held on the 26th of March, as the Guest of Honour.
The Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement, said, “The visit of the prime minister to Bangladesh will be the first visit to a foreign country since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic.”
The statement also read, “This highlights the priority India attaches to Bangladesh”.
Also Read: India & Bangladesh Likely To Sign 3 Agreements During PM Modi’s Visit To Dhaka
Apart from holding the bilateral consultation with Bangladesh Prime Minister, Modi’s Programme will also include a call with the President of Bangladesh, Md Abdul Hamid, said the Ministry of External Affairs.
Foreign Minister of Bangladesh A K Abdul Momen will call on Modi.
The Prime Ministers of the two countries held a Virtual Summit on the 17th of December 2020, during which the Prime Minister of India said that Bangladesh is a key pillar of New Delhi’s “Neighbourhood First” policy.
Hasina, on her part, went ahead and described India as a “true friend” and said that both the countries could play a significant role in global as well as regional value chains by further integrating their respective economies and boosting connectivity.
As a reflection of the rapidly growing ties of the two countries, they had even inked as many as seven agreements at the summit which will further broaden the base in a plethora of sectors and also restore the cross-border rail link which was snapped by the 1965 war with Pakistan.
