While several issues like ICP at Muhurughat along Indo-Bangla border in Tripura are going to be discussed the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s India visit is expected to expand new horizon for cooperation and bilateral trade and other supports.
Hasina will lead a high-level delegation which includes several ministers, advisers, secretaries and senior officials. Representatives from business bodies of Bangladesh will also accompany Sheikh Hasina.
Several agreements are expected to be signed during the state visit, MoFA said.
Hasina is also scheduled to attend a business event organized by the Confederation of Indian Industries.
In Agartala Special Secretary of Industries and Commerce, Abhishek Chandra said, Bangladesh’s objections to setting up an Integrated Check Post and other Tripura-related issues are likely to figure in talks between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in New Delhi on September 6.
Due to objections from the Bangladesh side, construction of ICP in South Tripura’s Muhurighat could not be made. The prime minister (Narendra Modi) has agreed to take up the issue with his Bangladesh counterpart during her visit, , told the media in Agartala yesterday, (September 3, 2022).
An Integrated Check Post is an entry and exit point on the international border with facilities such as immigration and customs.
Chandra said the “Maitri Setu” (bridge) over the Feni River was inaugurated by Modi on March, 9, last year to support the port connectivity with Chattogram in Bangladesh. However, trade has not yet begun as a Land Customs Station was yet to be set up on the other side of the river in Bangladesh.
On the other hand Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), said th Sheikh Hasina’s visit is significant for both Bangladesh and India.
At the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina will pay a visit to New Delhi from September 5 to 8.
Hasina will visit India after three years since she last visited in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.
The forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will further strengthen the multifaceted relationship between the two countries based on strong historical and cultural ties and mutual trust and understanding, said the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
The Bangladesh prime minister will be formally received by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi while a ceremonial guard of honour will be accorded to her. She will pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.
During her visit, PM Hasina will meet Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar apart from holding bilateral consultations with her Indian counterpart Modi at the Hyderabad House.
Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will call on PM Hasina, said the Ministry of External Affairs. Hasina is also likely to visit Ajmer.
The Bangladesh prime minister is also scheduled to attend a lunch to be hosted by her Indian counterpart.
She is expected to award the Mujib Scholarship, an initiative of the Bangladesh government, to the descendants of 200 Indian Armed Forces personnel who were martyred and critically injured during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.
In recent years, both sides have sustained a high level of engagement, including at the highest level, MEA said.
The prime minister is scheduled to return to Dhaka on September 8.
