External Affairs Minister (EAM) of India Dr S Jaishankar will pay a daylong visit to Dhaka on Thursday.
“Yes, the EAM will pay a one-day visit to Dhaka on Thursday. He will carry a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to invite Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to visit India,” India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told reporters in Delhi on Monday.
Shringla, the former ambassador of India to Bangladesh, made the comment when asked about Bangladesh media reports on Jaishankar’s visit.
He was responding to queries from journalists after an award-giving ceremony for logo and backdrop design competition held on the occasion of Bangladesh-India Friendship Day (Moitri Dibosh) at the Bangladesh High Commission. He joined the function as the chief guest.
Jaishankar will arrive in Dhaka on Thursday morning by a special aircraft and return to New Delhi the same evening.
Diplomatic sources in New Delhi said Jaishankar will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and hold a bilateral meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart Dr AK Abdul Momen. He will also join a dinner to be hosted by Dr Momen.
When contacted, another source familiar with the development said the visit of Sheikh Hasina to India may happen in the first week of July this year.
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The visit is considered a crucial one at a time when many developments have been happening in the regional and international arena during the last couple of months. Many pending issues are likely to be discussed during the visit, said the source.
In March last year, Jaishankar inaugurated a new Indian cultural centre in Dhaka as a tribute to the 50 years of Bangladesh’s independence.
The premier last visited New Delhi from October 3 to 6 to attend the Indian Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum (WEF). During the visit, she held bilateral talks with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
Besides, Modi visited Bangladesh from March 26-27 last year at the invitation of Sheikh Hasina to join the celebration of the golden jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence, the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the 50th years of establishment of Bangladesh-India diplomatic relations.
Indian President Ram Nath Kovind paid a state visit to Bangladesh from December 15-17 at the invitation of his Bangladesh counterpart M Abdul Hamid to attend the 50th victory day celebrations of Bangladesh.
