Mamata in Dhaka after 17 yrs
Mamata in Dhaka after 17 yrs
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee arrived in Dhaka this evening on a three-day trip, which both the neighbours view as a visit to strengthen ties between the two countries.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam and Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Pankaj Saran received Mamata at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on her arrival by an Air India flight.
Later, she was taken to Sonargaon Hotel in the city where she will be staying.
Before leaving Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport,
Mamata said this is a very emotional moment for her as she is visiting Bangladesh to attend the ‘Bhasha Dibas’ event on February 21.
“This is a very emotional moment for me…some journeys are more emotional. This is very special,” she tweeted hours before her departure from India narrating beauty of Bangla through a lyric of a Bangla song.
Mamata mentioned that she last visited Bangladesh 17 years ago and this is her first visit after the new government came to power in the West Bengal in May 2011.
“I’m looking forward to meeting (Prime Minister) Sheikh Hasina and the people of Bangladesh. India and Bangladesh share a special friendship and a special bond,” she said.
The visit raised hopes in Bangladesh that it will create a ‘supportive environment’ for settling pending issues with New Delhi apart from deepening soul-ties with Kolkata.
“We hope the visit will deepen Bangladesh’s soul-ties with the West Bengal. We also expect it’ll create supportive environment in settling unresolved issues between Dhaka and Delhi,” said Shahriar Alam.
During her stay here, Mamata will meet President Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban at 4:00pm on Friday while she will have a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Gono Bhaban on Saturday apart from attending a ‘High Tea’ to be hosted by Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali.
She will attend the ‘Amar Ekushey Ujjyapan’ function at Shaheed Minar to pay homage to the martyrs of the Language Movement, and visit the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum during his three-day visit.