Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar is set to visit Dhaka on a day trip to lay the groundwork for the upcoming visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources concerned have said.
The Indian prime minister is scheduled to visit Bangladesh from March 26-27 to participate in the celebrations of the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and to hold bilateral talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina.
Jaishankar will arrive by a special flight on Thursday morning and leave later in the day.
In addition to holding a meeting with Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, the Indian minister will call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
About the topics of discussion at the bilateral meeting between Dr Momen and Dr Jaishankar, sources said the agenda for the meeting between Sheikh Hasina and Modi are likely to be finalized to some extent.
Besides, they said that pressing issues such as water sharing of common rivers, killings of Bangladeshis by the Indian Border Security Force, trade and commerce, and vacines may be discussed.
"During the visit, the external affairs minister will meet with the Bangladesh foreign minister and also call on Sheikh Hasina, prime minister of Bangladesh," according to the Indian External Affairs Ministry.
"This visit of the external affairs minister to Bangladesh follows the PM-level Virtual Summit held between two countries on December 17, 2020 and will provide an opportunity to take stock of progress in bilateral relations," it said.
