Bangladesh PM Hasina arrives on 4-day India visit; to hold talks with Modi on Tuesday

New Delhi, Sep. 5 (PTI): Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived here on Monday on a four-day visit to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi following which the two sides are likely to ink pacts in key areas, including defence, trade and river water sharing.

Hasina, who last visited the country in 2019, was received at the airport by Union Minister Darshana Jardosh and will hold talks with Modi on Tuesday in the national capital. During her stay, she will also call on President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar.

On the first day of her state visit, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on the Bangladesh Prime Minister.

“Delighted to call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh this evening. The warmth and frequency of our leadership level contacts is a testimony to our close neighborly partnership,” Jaishankar tweeted.

Hours after her arrival, Hasina visited Dargah Nizamuddin Aulia in Delhi.

Tweeting about her arrival, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said,”Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina is warmly welcomed by MoS Railways and Textiles @DarshanaJardosh on her arrival in New Delhi for a State Visit. The visit will further strengthen the multifaceted relationship between the two countries.”

On Thursday, Hasina is scheduled to travel to Ajmer in Rajasthan to visit the Dargah of the revered Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti.

Hasina’s delegation comprised several ministers Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan and Liberation War Minister AKM Mozammel Haq.

Last month, India and Bangladesh finalised the text of the agreement on interim sharing of the water of the Kushiyara river. The MoU is set to be inked on Tuesday.

The text of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) was finalised at the 38th ministerial-level meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) that took place in Delhi on August 25.

India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers, of which seven were identified earlier for developing a framework of water-sharing agreements on priority.

The overall strategic ties between India and Bangladesh have been on an upswing in the last few years.

In March last year, Prime Minister Modi travelled to Bangladesh to attend events organised to mark the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 50 years of the war of liberation of that country.

In reflection of close ties, India also hosted a number of events to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1971 war that led to the liberation of Bangladesh.

The Prime Ministers of the two countries have met 12 times since 2015.

Bangladesh is now India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia and the bilateral trade has grown from USD 9 billion to USD 18 billion in the last five years.

It has also become the fourth largest export destination for India with the exports registering a growth of over 66 per cent from USD 9.69 billion in 2020-21 to USD 16.15 billion in 2021-22.