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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reaffirmed his country’s commitment to work with Bangladesh to build on the existing momentum during the new term in office of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
He said Bangladesh-India relations have been on an upward trajectory in the last few years.
Modi made the remarks when Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi in the morning.
The Prime Minister congratulated Dr Momen on his appointment as foreign minister.
He appreciated Dr Momen's gesture of selecting India as the destination for his first foreign visit, according to the Press Information Bureau (PIB) of India.
Dr Momen briefed the Prime Minister on recent developments in the bilateral relationship.
Indian Prime Minister Modi was the first among the global leaders to congratulate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after her party Awami League’s absolute victory in the December-30 elections.
Prime Minister Modi expressed confidence that the partnership between Bangladesh and India will continue to flourish under her “farsighted” leadership.
He also reiterated the priority India attaches to Bangladesh as a neighbour, a close partner for regional development, security and cooperation, and a central pillar in India’s ‘’Neighbourhood First” policy.
Foreign Minister Dr Momen is visiting New Delhi to attend the 5th Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) meeting scheduled for Friday.
Dr Momen and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will lead Bangladesh and Indian delegations respectively at the 5th JCC meeting.
Bangladesh and India have planned to sign five MoUs during the next round of foreign minister-level bilateral talks on Friday, aiming to take the relations between the two countries to newer heights, an official said.
The documents that are likely to be signed are MoU between the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of Bangladesh and the National Medical Plants Board, India on cooperation in the field of medicinal plants, MoU between National Centre for Good Governance, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of India and Ministry of Public Administration, Bangladesh on tanning and capacity building programme for Bangladesh Civil Servants and MoU between Hiranandani Group and Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) for developing Indian Economic Zone in Mongla, Bangladesh.
Two more MoUs between Bangladesh’s Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) and India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and state-run Bangladesh Television (BTV) and Prasar Bharti of India are also planned to be signed.
The fifth JCC meeting will review the progress made in areas such as trade and investment, security, connectivity, border management, power, energy, shipping, people-to-people exchanges, apart from Rohingya issue, said a diplomatic source, according to Reuters news agency.
The two countries will also discuss the common challenges and find ways on how the two friendly countries along with other like-minded nations can continue fighting the scourge of terrorism, extremism and radicalisation, the source indicates.
Foreign Minister Dr Momen will leave New Delhi for Dhaka on Saturday morning after wrapping up his first foreign tour as foreign minister.
The fourth Joint Consultative Commission between Bangladesh and India, led by former Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj respectively, was held in October 2017.