Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday said more than five memorandums of understanding (MoU) were likely to be signed between Bangladesh and India during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit in Dhaka.
“The number of MoUs could be more or less … but five plus (instruments are likely to be signed),” he told the reporters after attending a program in the capital on Thursday.
Dhaka and New Delhi are still in negotiation over the numbers of MoUs that are likely to be signed after the bilateral meeting between Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Modi, scheduled to be held on Saturday.
The foreign minister said Modi’s visit was mainly to join the celebrations of Bangladesh’s 50 years of independence as well as the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
He said as the top leaders of the two countries would sit for bilateral talks, all major issues were likely to be discussed.
The Indian prime minister is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on Friday morning on a two-day state visit to attend the celebrations.
Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Bhutan Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering have already attended the 10-day special program, which began on March 17, Bangabandhu’s birthday.
Many global leaders, including Queen Elizabeth II, Pope Francis, Chinese President Xi Jinping, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, sent video messages on the occasion.
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller is scheduled to read out a letter from President Joe Biden virtually on Friday, the Independence Day of the country.
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Modi’s itinerary
On his arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in Dhaka on Friday morning, the Indian prime minister will be received by her Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina.
After the formalities at the airport, Modi is scheduled to go straight to the National Martyrs’ Memorial in Savar to pay tributes to the martyrs of the Liberation War.
Shortly afterwards, he will also visit the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi 32 to pay homage to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
In the afternoon, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen will call on the Indian Prime Minister at Hotel Sonargaon.
Later, the Indian prime minister will join the celebration program as the guest of honour at the National Parade Square.
President Abdul Hamid will be present at the celebration as the chief guest, while Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will preside over the event.
In the evening, Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the “Bangabandhu-Bapu Museum” jointly with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. He will attend a state banquet arranged in his honour by his Bangladesh.
In the morning of the second day of his visit on Saturday, Narendra Modi will visit the mausoleum of the father of the nation at Tungipara in Gopalganj to pay respect.
He is scheduled to visit the Orakandi temple in Kashiani upazila of Gopalganj and the Jessoreswari Devi Temple at Ishwaripur under Shyamnagar in Satkhira district.
Later in the afternoon, he is also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Prime Minister’s Office. At the same time, in the presence of the prime ministers of the two countries, various MoUs will be inked and a number of projects inaugurated virtually.
Later, the Indian premier will meet President Md Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban.
Narendra Modi will leave Dhaka for New Delhi on Saturday.
