The visit, which will conclude on 17 December, will include meets with Bangladesh president Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen
President Ram Nath Kovind emplanes for Dhaka to participate in events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s Liberation. Image Courtesy: @rashtrapatibhavn/Twitter
President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday embarked on a three-day visit to Bangladesh to participate in the 50th Victory Day celebrations in Dhaka.
“Beginning Wednesday, President Kovind will be on a state visit to Bangladesh. The visit will be from 15-17 December. This visit is in context of 50th Victory Day celebrations in Dhaka at which Bangladesh president Abdul Hamid has invited President Kovind to represent India as a guest of honour,” Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Tuesday during a press briefing. This is the first visit of President Kovind to Bangladesh since the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Bangladesh inviting our President to be the guest of honour on this occasion to join to commemorate this event at which he is the only foreign dignitary who will be represented. At the same time, our president going out for the first time since the COVID pandemic is also very significant,” Shringla said.
Emphasising that the visit of the President provides an opportunity to renew India’s bonds with Dhaka, Shringla said that the relations are based on a shared geographical space, heritage, history and shared experience of New Delhi’s support to Bangladesh during its war of liberation.
“It is also an occasion to take note of the width, depth, vitality and dynamism of the contemporary ties,” Shringla added.
Schedule
Kovind will visit the National Martyrs’ Memorial on Wednesday morning and pay homage to those who died in the Bangladesh War of Independence of 1971. The president will also visit the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.
Kovind will hold a delegation-level meeting with Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Bangladeshi foreign minister will also call on him.
The Bangladeshi president will hold a banquet in honour of Kovind on Wednesday.
Kovind will attend the Victory Day parade, which will include a 122-member tri-services contingent from the Indian armed forces, as the guest of honour.
During his visit, President Kovind will also interact with ‘Mukti Jodhas’ of Bangladesh and Indian veterans.
Bilateral ties
Emphasising the close ties between the two countries, Shringla said Bangladesh has been the largest recipient of India-made vaccine doses.
So far, India has exported 2 crore and 18 lakh vaccines to Bangladesh. Out of these, 33 lakh were gifted, 1.5 crore were commercial exports and 35 lakh were given through the COVAX facility, Shringla said.
“The relationship is an extraordinary one, it is a close relationship with our multi-faceted ties. The ties are at a high point,” Shringla said. He added, “The visit of our president provides opportunity to renew our bonds based on… shared heritage, shared history and the shared experience of our support for Bangladesh during its liberation war. It is also an occasion to take note of the depth, breadth, vitality and dynamism of contemporary ties.”
Around 93,000 Pakistani troops had surrendered before the joint forces of the Indian Army and the “Mukti Bahini” on December 16, 1971, that paved way for the birth of Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Bangladesh in March to join the celebrations of the golden jubilee of its independence, the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 50 years of establishment of diplomatic ties.
With input from agencies
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.