NEW DELHI: After a gap of 7 years, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina will be visiting India from April 7.
The much awaited visit has been announced officially after the visit had to be rescheduled many a times owing to the unavailability of Prime Minister Narendra Modi or failure of the government to reach any forward movement on Teesta Water Sharing agreement that the countries would have wished to seal during the high profile visit.
“Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, will be visiting India on a State visit from April 07-10, 2017, on an invitation extended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders will hold official talks in New Delhi on April 8,” a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) statement said.
Prime Minister Modi had extended the invite during his first visit to Bangladesh in June 2015. Bangladesh is important for the “Neighbourhood First Policy” of the Narendra Modi government. The proclivity of Sheikh Hasina dispensation towards India has been manifested in the cooperation on the counter-terrorism and intelligence-sharing fronts. India would have want to mark the visit with the historic Teesta Water Sharing Treaty but it has not got nod of the West Bengal Chief Minister.
India is also expected to shore up its defence ties with the Eastern neighbour as China has earned the trust of Bangladesh by giving it its first submarine, apart from other defence deals worth $ 27 billion. To sum it up differently Chinese-built submarines will be operating in the Bay of Bengal, an area traditionally considered as area under Indian influence. India is going to woo Bangladesh, crucial for providing a gateway to its north-eastern states, by extending multi-million worth Line-of-Credit for purchase of military hardware.