DHAKA: Bangladesh is keen to work with India towards realising the shared vision of building a peaceful and prosperous region, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Wednesday as she extended greetings to her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and the people of India on the country's 73rd Republic Day.
In a letter written to Modi, Hasina said that the year 2021 was a "historic one" for the Bangladesh-India relationship, marked by celebrations of "epochal" events and engagements at the highest levels. "On behalf of the Government and the people of Bangladesh and on my own behalf, I extend the warmest wishes and heartiest felicitations to you and the People of India on the auspicious occasion of the Republic Day of India," she said.
Hasina said the unique ties of close friendship, cooperation and trust between the two countries have flourished and grown from strength to strength in recent years. She said that many new frontiers of cooperation alongside all traditional areas have been identified, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. "We look forward to working with India in the next fifty years and beyond, towards realising the shared vision of building a peaceful and prosperous region," she said.
Hasina said she "thankfully" recalled Modi's visit to Dhaka in March last year to join the celebrations of the golden jubilee of Bangladesh's independence, the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 50 years of establishment of diplomatic ties between Bangladesh and India.
"Your gracious presence on these occasions had added extra enthusiasm to the celebrations and allowed us to further consolidate our excellent bilateral relations, which so happily exist between our two countries," she wrote in the letter.
Hasina said she recalled with gratitude the support rendered by the government and the people of India during Bangladesh's Liberation War in 1971 and said this set the foundation of "our unique relationship". "The joint celebration of 'Moitri Dibosh' held across the globe on December 6, the day when India recognised Bangladesh as a sovereign and independent country in 1971, projected this special relationship," wrote Hasina.