Hamid flies to Delhi today

President Abdul Hamid leaves for New Delhi today on a six-day visit at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee.

This is going to be the first visit to India in nearly three decades by any incumbent Bangladesh President.

The visit takes place at a crucial time when the two neighbouring nations are expected to ratify the long-pending Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) soon to take the bilateral relations to a newer height.

A special flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, carrying the President and his wife, Rashida Khanom, will depart the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 10:45am, President's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said yesterday.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam will accompany the President during the tour.

Quoting a statement issued yesterday by Indian Ministry of External Affairs, our New Delhi correspondent reports: “The visit of the Bangladesh President will contribute to further strengthening and expanding the close bilateral relations between our two countries.”

During the visit, the Bangladesh President will have a meeting with his Indian counterpart at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday. Later, he will join dinner there to be hosted by the Indian President.

Abdul Hamid will also have a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Vice President of India Hamid Ansari, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Opposition Leader of Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad will separately meet President Hamid during the tour.

The President will stay at Rashtrapati Bhavan during his stay in New Delhi.

Abdul Hamid will also visit historical and culturally important places like Agra, Jaipur and Kolkata.

Our New Delhi correspondent adds that Abdul Hamid will visit the Taj Mahal on December 20 and Ajmer the next day. On December 22, he will fly to Kolkata where West Bengal state Governor K N Tripathi will host a dinner for him on that day.

The President will travel to Bolpur by a helicopter on December 23 to lay the foundation stone of Bangladesh Bhavan in Visva Bharati University before returning to Kolkata and then to Dhaka on the same day.