NE NEWS SERVICE
DHAKA, MAR 27
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina on Saturday and discussed the progress achieved in areas like connectivity, energy, trade, health and developmental cooperation following which the two countries signed five MoUs covering a number of areas of bilateral cooperation.
Modi also met Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid and held discussion on wide range of subjects.
Relationship going from strength to strength!
Prime Minister @narendramodi and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina discussed the progress achieved in areas of health, trade, connectivity, energy, developmental cooperation and many more. pic.twitter.com/3J1QjnKEcu
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) March 27, 2021
Strengthening cooperation!
In the presence of Prime Minister @narendramodi and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, five MoUs were exchanged between 🇮🇳 & 🇧🇩 covering various fields such as disaster management, ICT equipment, sports, etc. pic.twitter.com/eCbgeWwBXR
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) March 27, 2021
Had a wonderful meeting with President Abdul Hamid. We exchanged views on a wide range of subjects pertaining to India-Bangladesh cooperation. pic.twitter.com/CabZy00yqK
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 27, 2021
Modi, who is visiting Bangladesh on his first trip to a foreign country since the outbreak of the coronavirus, held one-on-one talks with Hasina which was followed by delegation-level meeting which continued for over an hour.
“Relationship going from strength to strength! Prime Minister @narendramodi and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina discussed the progress achieved in areas of health, trade, connectivity, energy, developmental cooperation and many more,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted after the talks.
The two sides signed five Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) covering areas such as connectivity, commerce, information technology and sports.
In a humanitarian gesture, Prime Minister Modi handed over a representational key of 109 ambulances to his counterpart Hasina. He also handed over a representational box to her as a symbol of India’s gift of 1.2 million COVID vaccine doses to Bangladesh.
Hasina presented a gold and a silver coin released on the occasion of the birth centenary of her father and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to Modi. She also handed over a silver coin released on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s Independence.
The two leaders also jointly opened some projects virtually.
Mode’s visit is taking place at a time Bangladesh is commemorating Mujib Borsho, the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 50 years of the country’s war of liberation. The two countries are also celebrating 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties.
On Friday, Modi attended the celebrations of the golden jubilee of the country’s independence, the birth centenary of ‘Bangabandhu’ in Dhaka.
The two prime ministers held a virtual summit on December 17 during which Modi said Bangladesh is a key pillar of New Delhi’s ”Neighbourhood First” policy, while Hasina described India as a “true friend” and asserted that both countries could play a significant role in the global and regional value chains by further integrating their economies as well as boosting connectivity.
Prime Minister offers prayer at Matua temple
Blessed moments from Orakandi. pic.twitter.com/BYbP97adNF
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 27, 2021
Earlier on Saturday morning Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at a Matua temple in Bangladesh’s Orakandi, the birthplace of Hindu mystic figure and Matua community’s spiritual guru Harichand Thakur.
Modi, who was wearing a mask, offered prayers at the Harichand-Guruchand Temple, where he was welcomed with ”Dhaak, Shankh, Ulu” in line with local rituals.
Orakandi is the abode of hundreds of Hindu Matua community, a large number of whom are residents of West Bengal.
Ahead of his visit, Modi had said he is looking forward to his interaction with representatives of the Matua community at Orakandi, from where Sri Sri Harichand Thakur disseminated his pious message.
Analysts said Modi’s planned temple visit carry a political significance at the time of the ongoing assembly elections in West Bengal.
Last time when Prime Minister Modi visited Bangladesh in 2015, he offered puja at Dhakeshwari temple in the national capital.
Bangladesh has taken extra security measures for the Indian premier’s visit in the wake of protests by few leftist and Islamist groups.
In 2016, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) said their latest vital sample statistics report found the country’s total population to be 15.89 crore by the end of 2015 with the number of Hindus at 1.70 crore in the Muslim-majority nation. Courtesy: PTI
