Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh later this week will be of "very special significance" and will serve to highlight the celebration of unique bilateral ties, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Modi will visit Bangladesh on March 26 and 27 on the invitation of Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina. This will the first foreign visit by Prime Minister Modi since the coronavirus outbreak.
"This visit will be of very special significance and will serve to highlight the celebration of very special and unique ties which reinforces comprehensive strategic ties with Bangladesh," Shringla said during a media briefing here.
PM Modi will call on Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid during the visit. He will hold restricted delegation-level talks with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen will call on the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister will also interact with diverse groups of Bangladesh's polity and society.
The visit comes at a momentous time in bilateral ties between two countries, Shringla said.
"Bangladesh is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its liberation war. India had lent its full support to this noble cause in which Indian soldiers sacrificed their lives too," he said.
"Both nations are commemorating 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties. It is also the year of commemoration of the 100th birth anniversary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman," he added.
The Foreign Secretary said that security and defence is an important part of bilateral cooperation with Bangladesh.
"In recent years, we have signed an agreement on defence cooperation. We have extended a USD 500 million line of credit for defence imports from India into Bangladesh," he said.
"We have undertaken joint military exercises, training and capacity building exercises regularly. There are regular visits of chiefs of army staff between both countries. It is a regular practice for chiefs of all of our armed forces to visit Bangladesh and vice-versa," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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