As part of the initiative to strengthen people-to-people contact and exchange between India and Bangladesh, a hundred-member Bangladesh Youth Delegation will visit India from October 21–28, after receiving invitation from the government of India.
This is the second time that the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, the High Commission of India have organised the weeklong tour. The first time, this tour took place on October 6-13, 2012.
Members of the delegation are young men and women drawn from diverse institutions of Bangladesh and include doctors, engineers, management graduates, business people, entrepreneurs, journalists, musicians and students. The youth delegation will visit the national capital New Delhi as well as Agra, Bengaluru and Mysore.
They will see prominent cultural and historical sites in India apart from holding interactions in educational, business, IT and technological institutions of India. They are also expected to call on Shri Pranab Mukherjee, President of India.
Indian High Commissioner Pankaj Saran addressed the delegation while cricketer Shakib Al Hasan and film personality Jaya Ahsan were also present at the pre-departure interaction with the members of the delegation on October 20 at the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre.
Indian High Commissioner Pankaj Saran shared his take on the occasion at the pre-departure interaction: “We are a neighbour, which is fact of life. The real challenge before us is to be a good neighbor. When we think about going out of Bangladesh, we think about going to Europe, America, and Canada.
We never think of going to India or to Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka or to any other country which is close to us. We have to learn to recognize the places and people living around us. This visit will enable you to see different aspects of India, its people, culture, achievements and give you a better understanding of the country as a neighbour.”
Pankaj Saran praised the women’s empowerment development in Bangladesh, and said: “Bangladesh is one country which holds its head very high in terms of how Bangladesh has been empowered since 1971.” He also encouraged the youth delegates, saying: “You represent the best of Bangladesh.”
