Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, 17 December, held a virtual bi-lateral summit with Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, saying ever since his government has come to power, there has been a focus on maintaining strong foreign relationships with the neighbouring country. He told his Dhaka counterpart that Bangladesh continues to be one of the significant pillars of India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.
PM Modi started the summit by saying that, as the world has begun convening virtual conference, this was not new to the two leaders as they have been in constant correspondence over the years.
“The cooperation between India and Bangladesh has been good notwithstanding the coronavirus pandemic,” said the Indian Prime Minister.
He added, “Bangladesh is a significant pillar of our ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy. To strengthen relations with Bangladesh has been a priority for me since the first day”.
India Is Our True Friend: Bangladeshi PM Hasina
In her opening speech, Hasina said that she is happy to meet PM Modi again, “particularly on this month of victory”.
“December evokes in all Bangladeshis the spirit of joy, freedom and celebration as we recall with deep gratitude our ‘Father of the Nation’ Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Under whose dynamic leadership we earned our great independence,” she said.
“India is our true friend,” the Bangladesh PM added.
She also paid homage to the martyrs of the 1971 war by saying, “I pay deep homage to the three million martyrs who laid down their lives. I pay tribute to the members of the Indian armed forces martyred in the war and to their families. I pay my gratitude to the government and the people of India who extended their wholehearted support for the cause of our nation,” said Hasina.
“Today is a special day for me – 17 December. This was the day when the Pakistani forces , my mother, my sister, my brother, they were all incarcerated. Col Ashok Tara, who was a major at that time, on the morning of 17 December, freed us from the hands of the Pakistani forces,” said PM Hasina.
Fruitful Summit: Bangladesh-Myanmar Joint Secretary
Later, at a Ministry of External Affairs press conference, Smita Pant called the summit between the two leaders ‘fruitful’, saying that it ‘included inauguration of significant projects & detailed discussions in all areas of cooperation,” and that “PM Modi has accepted PM Sheikh Hasina's invitation to visit Bangladesh on 26th March, 2021.”
She added, “seven agreements were signed in the areas of hydrocarbon, culture, agriculture, high impact community development projects, and conservation of wildlife”, including issues relating to sharing of Teesta and other river waters, ANI reported.
Pant also informed that the summit “agreed and highlighted the need for safe, early, and sustainable repatriation of displaced persons from Rakhine state back to Myanmar.”
Further adding that the MEA “appreciates and understands the humanitarian burden being faced by Bangladesh while hosting more than 1 million displaced persons.”
Why Was This Virtual Summit Held?
The two leaders jointly inaugurated a digital exhibition on Mahatma Gandhi and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rehman and the Chilahati-Haldibari rail link between India and Bangladesh, which has been operational for almost 55 years. They released a commemorative stamp on Sheikh Mujibur Rehman’s birth centenary and signed a pact to form an India-Bangladesh CEOs forum with the IT sector as a priority area, reported The Indian Express.
PM Modi took to Twitter later on Thursday, and expressed that he was “honoured to review our diverse ties with Bangladesh during my Virtual Summit with PM Sheikh Hasina.”
“Next year, India and Bangladesh will jointly commemorate Mujib Borsho and 50 years of establishment of our diplomatic ties. I look forward to visiting Dhaka for paying my homage to the life and ideals of Bangabandhu,” he added.
(With inputs from The Indian Express)
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