Indian Foreign Secretary Shringla arrives Dhaka
Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla arrived here on Tuesday morning on a two-day visit as India officially announced its President's state visit to Bangladesh from 15-17 December.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen received his Indian counterpart Shringla upon his arrival by a special aircraft.
Apart from his meeting with Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, Shringla will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during his visit.
Though the Indian government is yet to announce the name of the chief guest for its Republic Day parade that falls on 26 January, it could not be known whether Shringla is carrying any message or special invitation from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his Bangladesh counterpart.
The Indian Foreign Secretary is scheduled to meet the Prime Minister on Wednesday.
He will also call on Road Transport and Bridges Minister Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Tuesday.
India's relationship with Bangladesh is one of the strongest pillars of its "Neighbourhood First Policy", said the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In this special year, Bangladesh and India are jointly commemorating 50 years of the establishment of their diplomatic ties.
The Foreign Secretary's visit to Bangladesh, a day after the Maitri Diwas celebrations, will provide an opportunity to review the wide-ranging cooperation between the two countries, MEA said.
The visit will also help prepare for the State visit of President of India Ram Nath Kovind to Bangladesh from December 15 to 17.
Earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had paid a State visit to Bangladesh from March 26 to 27, 2021 to join the celebrations of the Golden Jubilee of the independence of Bangladesh, the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 50 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Bangladesh.
During his visit here, Prime Minister Modi extended an invitation to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to visit India in 2022 in commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
