PM Modi begins two-day visit to Dhaka; he looks forward to "substantive discussions" with Hasina

DHAKA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today arrived in Bangladesh on a two-day visit to the nation. The PM will participate in the 50th anniversary celebrations of the nation, and Sheikh Mujib ur Rahman's 100th birth anniversary at the National Martyr's Memorial today.

Modi was received by his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina, with whom he will be having several rounds of "substantive discussions" over the next two days. He is also expected to call on Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid during the visit.

It needs to be mentioned here that this is Modi's first foreign diplomatic visit since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in India last year.

"I look forward to my participation at the National Day celebrations tomorrow, which will also commemorate the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Bangabandhu was one of the tallest leaders of the last Century, whose life and ideals continue to inspire millions. I look forward to visiting Bangabandhu's Samadhi in Tungipara to pay my respects to his memory," read his departure statement.

As mentioned in the statement, Modi will also offer prayers at the ancient Jashoreshwari Kali Temple, one of the 51 Shaktipeeths in the Puranic tradition. He will also interact with representatives of the Matua community at Orakandi.

Earlier in a tweet Modi asserted, "Our partnership with Bangladesh is an important pillar of our Neighbourhood First policy, and we are committed to further deepen and diversify it. We will continue to support Bangladesh's remarkable development journey, under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's dynamic leadership."

PM Modi in an opinion piece written for the Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star, recalled the contributions and struggles of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members were brutally assassinated on August 1975.

"Had the late leader not been assassinated in 1975, Bangladesh and the region would have evolved along a very different trajectory," Modi wrote in the article.

"We could have built a closely integrated economic region, with deeply interlinked value-chains spanning food processing to light industry, electronics and technology products to advanced materials," he further wrote.

His visit to Bangladesh comes amid the Assembly election to be held in West Bengal and Assam, that shares its boundaries with the nation. While the BJP is looking to dethrone TMC leader Mamata Banerjee in Bengal, it is eyeing to retain power in Assam.

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