Shringla to visit Dhaka ahead of Modi’s trip

Newly-appointed Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla plans to visit Dhaka to prepare grounds for India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh in March.

The Indian premier is scheduled to attend the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to be held in Dhaka on March 17.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Muhammad Imran met Shringla yesterday at the latter’s office in New Delhi and discussed the issue.

“India wants to see the upcoming visit of Modi to become mutually beneficial to both the countries,” Shringla said.

During the meeting, the foreign secretary noted the importance India attaches to its relationship with Bangladesh as its immediate neighbour, according to the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi.

Shringla expressed satisfaction over the excellent bilateral relations, and stressed that the neighbours can further promote ties in areas like defense cooperation, trade and people-to -people contact.

Imran appreciated Shringla’s role in consolidating the bilateral relations during his tenure as the High Commissioner to Bangladesh.

He particularly noted Shringla’s endeavours in easing visa issuance system, which contributed to huge movement of people between the two countries.

Shringla served as the High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh from 2015 to 2018, and also as the Head of the Territorial Wing of Bangladesh-Myanmar (BM) Division of India’s ministry of external affairs.

Rokebul Haque, Deputy High Commissioner of the Mission, accompanied the envoy during the meeting.