- Saturday, June 29, 2024
The prime ministers of the two south Asian neighbours have met 10 times since 2019, sources in India’s ministry of external affairs said.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (22) held extensive talks with his visiting Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina to further shore up cooperation in diverse areas including trade and connectivity.
The latter kicked off her two-day visit to India on Friday (21). It is her second visit to India in a month.
It is the first incoming bilateral state visit by a foreign leader after the formation of the new government in India following the recent general elections. Modi became the prime minister for the third consecutive time but with a reduced majority.
“PM @narendramodi extended a warm welcome to PM Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh at Hyderabad House ahead of their bilateral discussions,” Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of India’s ministry of external affairs, said on X.
Read: Bangladesh’s Hasina mocks opponents over ‘Boycott India’: ‘Burn your wives’ Indian saris first’
“The two leaders have met each other ten times since 2019, making unprecedented transformations in the relationship,” he added.
Deepening 🇮🇳-🇧🇩 Maitri!
PM @narendramodi extended a warm welcome to PM Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh at Hyderabad House ahead of their bilateral discussions.
The two leaders have met each other ten times since 2019, making unprecedented transformations in the relationship. pic.twitter.com/4ZmwX5BraH
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) June 22, 2024
🇮🇳🇧🇩| A relationship serving as a role model for neighbourhood partnership!
PM @narendramodi and PM Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh held talks to further deepen historic ties between the two countries.
The talks covered a range of areas of bilateral cooperation including… pic.twitter.com/O2gpB0qQnF
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) June 22, 2024
Earlier in the morning, Hasina visited Rajghat, a memorial dedicated to India’s iconic freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi, where she paid rich tributes.
Read: Bangladesh has become a ‘one-party’ state, says Nobel winner Yunus
Ahead of the talks with Modi, the visiting leader was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the Indian president.
Officials said the focus of the Modi-Hasina talks would be to impart a new momentum to the bilateral ties including in areas of trade, connectivity and energy.
Hasina was among the seven top leaders from India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region who attended the swearing-in ceremony of Modi and his government’s council of ministers on June 9.
The overall strategic ties between India and Bangladesh have been on an upswing in the last few years. Bangladesh is an important partner for India under its “Neighbourhood First” policy and the cooperation extends to areas of security, trade, commerce, energy, connectivity, science and technology, defence and maritime affairs among others.
Bangladesh is India’s largest development partner with nearly one-fourth of New Delhi’s commitment under the Line of Credit has been made to that country.
The neighbouring country is India’s biggest trade partner in south Asia and India is the second biggest trade partner of Bangladesh in Asia.
India is Bangladesh’s largest export destination in Asia, with approximately USD 2 billion of Bangladeshi exports recorded to India in 2022-23. The two countries share 4096.7 km of border — the longest land boundary that India shares with any of its neighbours.
There is active cooperation between various agencies of both countries to cooperate on police matters, and anti-corruption activities and to combat illicit drug trafficking, fake currency, and human trafficking, among others.
(With PTI inputs)
