PM to visit India in first half of April

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will pay an official visit to India in the first half of April this year.

This was stated when visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her Jatiya Sangsad office here yesterday afternoon.

After the nearly 30-minute meeting, PM's Deputy Press Secretary Nazrul Islam briefed reporters.

He said the reciprocal visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would take place in the first half of April.

"Through the visit the bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh would be strengthened further," the Indian foreign secretary told the prime minister.

The visit would mainly focus on mutual interests and development initiative side by side with connectivity, Jaishankar said.

Pointing out mutual solution of various problems between the two next-door neighbours, including Land Boundary and enclave problems, the prime minister said: "We could solve any problem through discussion if we have good intention."

Sheikh Hasina put emphasis on increasing connectivity between the countries of this region as well as strengthening cooperation in other sectors for welfare of the people of the region.

When the Indian foreign secretary raised the issue of SAARC which now remained stalled, the premier said: "We should not let it die down."

While talking about the BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement, Sheikh Hasina underscored the need for making effective this initiative in the greater interest of the four nations.

"The BBIN initiative should be effective and we should solve any problem regarding the initiative through discussion," she said.

The Indian foreign secretary said his country would take more development projects in Bangladesh as per its (Bangladesh) need.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, PM's Principal Secretary Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque and Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Harsha Bardhan Shringla were present on the occasion.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bangladesh on June 6-7 in 2015. Jaishankar arrived here today on a two-day tour to finalize the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to India and brief Sheikh Hasina about its preparations, diplomatic sources said.

Source: BSS