Pranab: Bangladesh an attractive place for investment

Former Indian President Pranab Mukherjee has said Bangladesh is an attractive place for investment. He made the statement while paying a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence Ganabhaban on Monday afternoon. Pranab Mukherjee also praised Bangladesh's socioeconomic development under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. After the meeting, prime minister’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters. At the outset of the meeting, Karim said the two leaders exchanged wellbeing. "I did politics for a long time ... I was in a constitutional post as the Indian president and also in parliament. After retirement, I have enough time to read," Pranab said. The former Indian president recalled that his first foreign tour as the Indian president was Bangladesh in 2013. The prime minister highlighted Bangladesh's socioeconomic development, saying that poverty rate has been brought down to 22% for various pragmatic steps taken by her government. She said Bangladesh’s economy counted losses to some extent due to the last year's flood. About Rohingya issue, Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh has given shelter to over 1,000,000 forcibly evicted Myanmar nationals on a humanitarian ground. Sharmishtha Mukherjee, daughter of Pranab Mukherjee, prime minister Principal Secretary Md Nojibur Rahman and Senior PMO Secretary Suraiya Begum were present on the occasion. Later, the former Indian president joined a luncheon hosted by the premier. Earlier, Sheikh Hasina received Pranab Mukherjee at the main entrance of Ganabhaban by handing over a bouquet. Pranab Mukherjee arrived in Dhaka on a four-day visit.