Bangladesh will host heads of states and governments from five neighbouring countries over the next eleven days (March 17-27).
The presidents of the Maldives and Nepal, and prime ministers of Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka will take part celebrations to mark 50 years of Bangladesh's independence and the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Although the dignitaries will visit primarily to participate in the celebrations, there may be discussions on bilateral issues to a limited extent.
All the heads of the state and governments are scheduled to meet with President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Apart from bilateral talks, 15-20 instruments in the form of memorandum of understanding (MoU) are likely to be inked. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh is working with its counterparts in this regard.
As the talks and preparations are still ongoing, the exact number of bilateral instruments that are to be signed cannot be specified right now.
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the president of the Maldives, will join the celebrations on Wednesday (March 17).
He will have meetings with President Hamid and Prime Minister Hasina. It is expected that, among others, the issue related to the well-being of Bangladeshi expatriates in the Maldives will be discussed.
Besides, four MoUs are likely to be signed.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will arrive in the capital on March 19. He will also hold meetings with the Bangladesh president and the prime minister.
Preparations are underway to ink five MoUs during the visit of the Sri Lankan prime minister.
Bidya Devi Bhandari, the president of Nepal, will come to Dhaka on March 22. Her visit to Bangladesh will be the first by any Nepalese president.
Four MoUs are likely to be signed during the visit of the Nepalese president.
Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering will join the celebrations on March 24. Two MoUs are expected to be signed between Bangladesh and Bhutan.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive on March 26. He will hold bilateral talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina on the following day.
Both the countries are preparing to ink three MoUs after the meeting.
Besides, the Indian prime minister will most likely have a couple of engagements outside the capital.
