India has total support for Sheikh Hasina's leadership: Indian foreign secy

Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra has said that his country has total support for the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
 
"We've total support to you and your leadership," he said while paying a courtesy call on the Bangladesh premier at her official residence Ganabhaban on Wednesday.
 
Prime minister's speech writer Md Nazrul Islam briefed reporters after the meeting. 

Vinay Kwatra said India will remain beside Bangladesh during its development journey, including political and economic progress. 

During the meeting, the Indian foreign secretary invited Sheikh Hasina to attend the 18th edition of the Group of Twenty (G20) Summit scheduled to take place in New Delhi on September 9-10 this year. 

Accepting the invitation, the Bangladesh premier extended thanks to her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. 

India, which holds the presidency of the G20 from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023, invited Bangladesh as a "guest country" in its all meetings. 

Describing the bilateral ties between the two neighboring countries as a very firm, Vinay Kwatra said the whole world now values the Bangladesh-India relationship, which has already reached to a strategic level. This relationship is being strengthened further, he added. 

In this context, the prime minister mentioned India as a trusted friend and hoped that this friendship would deepen further.
 
She said both countries can work on the socio-economic development of the two neighbors. 

The visiting Indian foreign secretary said they are trying to make the terms and conditions of Indian Line of Credit (LoC) easier so that Bangladesh can avail the credit and repay it easily. 

He said that the bilateral trade and business should be run using both countries' local currencies. 

Prime Minister's Principal Secretary M Tofazzel Hossain Miah, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma were present.