India confirms Modi’s Dhaka visit with bilateral component

India on Thursday confirmed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh to attend the birth centenary celebrations of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 17.

"Prime Minister (Modi) has accepted the invitation (from Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina) and will visit Bangladesh to attend the important celebration," Raveesh Kumar, official spokesperson at Indian Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters in the weekly briefing in New Delhi.

He said there will also be a "bilateral component" of the visit and more details will be shared in due course.

During her New Delhi visit on October 5, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina extended an invitation to her Indian counterpart to pay a visit to Bangladesh.

Both the leaders emphasised the need for greater cooperation to commemorate the two important anniversary years: Bangabandhu's birth centenary in 2020; and 50 years of Bangladesh's War of Liberation, and the establishment of India-Bangladesh bilateral diplomatic ties in 2021.

To commemorate these two historic years, both leaders also agreed to enhance cultural interactions between both the countries.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said Bangladesh will show respect to Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi in every possible way as a guest when he will join the birth centenary celebrations of Bangabandhu in Dhaka.

During his recent visit to Bangladesh, Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said, "I trust our Prime Minister's (Narendra Modi) visit later this month will fully exemplify India's strong sentiment of goodwill, trust and respect for Bangladesh."

Shringla said Prime Minister Modi has specially been invited to participate in the inaugural ceremony of 'Mujib Borsho' marking the birth centenary of Bangabandhu.

"We're looking forward to this visit, both because of the priority the Prime Minister attaches to this relationship, and even more so, because Bangabandhu is just so iconic – as a globally-recognised statesman and iconic symbol of liberation for Bangladesh and for our subcontinent," he said adding that for them in India, there is a special resonance to his name.