Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on Monday morning, to finalize things ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the capital city later this month.
The Indian prime minister is likely to arrive in Dhaka on the morning of March 17, the birthday of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to attend Bangabandhu’s birth centenary as well as have bilateral talks with his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working on the agenda to be discussed at the bilateral meeting, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said.
“The date of his [Modi’s] arrival in Dhaka is not yet finalized, but he is likely to come on March 17 (morning),” Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen told reporters at a program in Dhaka on Sunday, UNB reported.
On March 17, Bangabandhu’s birth centenary will be celebrated with a mega event, followed by a year-long celebration around the country and all the Bangladesh missions abroad.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced that March 2020 to March 2021 would be observed as “Mujib Borsho” (Mujib Year) across Bangladesh to mark the occasion.
The Mujib Borsho will be followed by the golden jubilee celebrations of the country's independence in 2021.
Shringla is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen after his arrival on Monday.
This is Shringla's first visit to Dhaka as the Indian foreign secretary, after his tenure as the high commissioner of India to Bangladesh.
The Indian foreign secretary will also deliver a keynote speech at a seminar, jointly organized by Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) and the Indian High Commission, to be held in a city hotel on Monday.
He is scheduled to leave Dhaka on Tuesday morning, an official told UNB.
The Indian government announced that they would work together with the Bangladesh government to commemorate the two important anniversary years: Bangabandhu's birth centenary in 2020, and the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh's Liberation War and the establishment of Bangladesh-India diplomatic ties in 2021.
Former Indian president Pranab Mukherjee and former Indian National Congress president Sonia Gandhi are also expected to visit Dhaka to attend the birth centenary celebrations.
