Shringla to call on Hasina amid speculation that Modi Government may invite her to be Republic Day Chief Guest

Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla will call on Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka on Wednesday, ahead of President Ram Nath Kovind’s proposed visit to the neighbouring country.

Shringla flew to Dhaka early on Tuesday amid speculation that the Government of India would invite the Prime Minister of Bangladesh to be the Chief Guest of the Republic Day ceremony in New Delhi on January 26 next year. The two sides are expected to factor in the Covid-19 situation before finalizing Sheikh Hasina’s visit to New Delhi.

New Delhi sent its top diplomat to Dhaka just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to work with his counterpart to “further expand and deepen” India-Bangladesh ties.

The Foreign Secretary had a meeting with his counterpart in the Government of Bangladesh, Masud Bin Momen soon after reaching Dhaka.

Momen stressed during his talks with Shringla the need for India’s border guards to exercise restraint along the border with Bangladesh and refrain from opening fire frequently. He nudged his counterpart from New Delhi to expedite the signing of the long-awaited deal for sharing of water of common river Teesta.

Dhaka also sought New Delhi’s support to “facilitate safe, secured and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to Myanmar”.

Shringla later called on Bangladesh Foreign Minister, A K Abdul Momen. He also had a meeting with Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of the ruling Awami League and the Minister for Road Transport and Bridges of Bangladesh.

His visit will help prepare for the forthcoming state visit of the President of India to Dhaka from December 15 to 17, according to the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. Kovind will attend the 50th Victory Day celebration in Dhaka on December 16 – an event that will be commemorating the day the Pakistan Army had surrendered to the Indian Army and the Mukti Bahini in 1971, thus marking the end of the war, which had liberated East Pakistan and had given birth to Bangladesh.

India celebrated the Maitri Diwas in New Delhi on Monday, commemorating the day it had recognized Bangladesh as the new nation in 1971 – just 10 days before the surrender of the Pakistan Army.

Hasina said in a video message on the occasion of the Maitri Diwas that the Bangladesh-India relationship was anchored in history, culture and language as well as shared values of secularism, democracy and countless other commonalities. She said that the two countries should now focus on people-to-people contact, trade, business, and connectivity. “Today, our broad partnership has matured, taking dynamic, comprehensive and strategic shape, and is based on sovereignty, equality, trust and mutual respect,” she said on Monday.

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