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3 years ago

Indian foreign minister due Thursday ahead of Modi's Dhaka visit

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Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on Thursday on a brief visit to discuss about the forthcoming visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bangladesh.

Jaishankar is likely to arrive by a special aircraft at 10am on Thursday and will leave Dhaka the same day, reports UNB citing a foreign ministry official.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam on Tuesday said the Indian minister would meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and his Bangladesh counterpart Dr AK Abdul Momen during his visit.

The bilateral talks between Momen and Jaishankar will be held at State guesthouse Padma from 11:30am to 12:30pm. They are likely to brief media jointly after the talks.

The foreign minister will host lunch in honour of his Indian counterpart at a city hotel.

Modi's planned visit to Bangladesh on March 26-27 will be his first trip abroad in more than a year, mainly because of the Covid-19 pandemic. He will join the celebration marking the 50th anniversary of independence and 50 years of Bangladesh-India diplomatic relations.

Asked about the agenda of the meeting during the Indian minister’s visit, Shahriar Alam said there is always something on the table to discuss.

He said they will discuss all the issues, including outstanding issues, and the water issue will always remain a priority.

The two minister will discuss ways to remove the barriers to export and import activities, Shahriar added.

A passenger train is likely to be made operational between Dhaka and New Jalpaiguri of India on March 26 as part of the celebrations of the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi are expected to flag off the train service.

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