Indian Foreign Secretary To Dhaka On A Two-Day Visit

Indian Foreign Secretary to Dhaka on a two-day visit.Indian Foreign Secretary Harsha Vardhan Shringla arrives in Dhaka on a two-day visit. Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh Masud bin Momen welcomed him at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport this morning at 9:30 am.

In the first program of the day, Harsh Vardhan will present a seminar on a seminar on Bangladesh-India relations at Hotel Sonargaon in the capital city of Shringla. Later, he will have a courtesy call on Road Transport and Bridge Minister Obaidul Quader and Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen.

Harsh Vardhan Shringla has arrived in Dhaka to discuss co-operation and preparations for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit. He will hold a courtesy meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and hold a formal meeting with Foreign Secretary Masud bin Momen on the first day of his visit.

India’s new Foreign Secretary arrives in Dhaka at a time when blood is spilling over Delhi’s streets surrounding the Indian Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The international community has eyes on the current situation in India. Talks with foreign ministry officials revealed that talks on the visit of Shringler to Dhaka would also bring about the Delhi riots situation surrounding citizenship law. Religious and left-wing organizations have staged rallies in the capital Dhaka to protest the Delhi violence and to not invite the Indian Prime Minister to the Mujib Year.

The main event of the birth anniversary of Mujibur Rahman will be held at the parade square of the capital on March 17. India’s Narendra Modi is expected to attend the event as special guest. At the same time, the meeting of the Prime Minister of two neighboring countries in Dhaka will be held ob March 19.

Foreign Secretary Masud bin Momen told First Light that Harsha Vardhan Shringla was coming to Dhaka to finalize the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his forthcoming visit to the Prime Minister of India, he can discuss the importance of some issues to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.

The foreign secretary said that issues such as Teesta would be on the priority list in talks with the Indian Prime Minister.

Diplomatic sources of the two countries have said that preparations are underway for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka on March 7. After that meeting, there are plans for signing a Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries. Harsha Vardhan Shringla can discuss the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during his visit to Dhaka. In addition, issues such as trade, trade, alliances, free movement of people in two countries and defense cooperation may also be on the agenda. In particular, Bangladesh is now in the process of developing a middle-income country. In the changed scenario, preliminary discussions are underway between the officials of the two countries on whether a new trade agreement can be signed between Bangladesh and India.

Bangladesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India on April 2017 to buy into the defense sector. But under that MoU, the buying process is not over yet. India wants Bangladesh to end its purchase as per the loan agreement under defense cooperation. India emphasized the issue during Indian Foreign Minister S Jayashankar’s visit to Dhaka in June last year and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Delhi in October. The matter is likely to be discussed during Narendra Modi’s visit.

In December last year, protests broke out in various states around the country passing the Indian Citizenship Amendment Act. In the meantime, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen’s visit to India was postponed. Last December, a joint river commission meeting of the two countries was also postponed. In such a context, the Delhi highway riots surrounding the Indian citizenship law in February have left the Bangladesh government afresh. Therefore, on the first visit of Harsha Vardhan Shringla as Foreign Secretary to India, Bangladesh will want to know the latest attitude and position of India around the citizenship law.

Dhaka Bureau Chief, March 02,2020