Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reached the West Bengal to join her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at the opening of Bangladesh Bhavana at the Visva-Bharati during a convocation of the university.
She flew out of Shahjalal International Airport with Biman Bangladesh Airlines to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata around 8:50 am on Friday.
Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim received the prime minister at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, reports bdnews24.
Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Chief Whip ASM Feroz, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam, Chief Secretary Md Nojibur Rahman, chief of the three defence forces and other senior officials were present at the airport during the prime minister’s departure.
During the two-day visit, she will attend a special convocation of Kazi Nazrul University in Asansol.
Hasina’s meet with her Indian counterpart on this tour has been seen as important a few months ahead of general election of Bangladesh.
She will hold a bilateral meeting with Modi on the sidelines of the convocation at Santiniketan. The prime minister will go to the Thakur Bari at Jorasanko and Netaji Museum in Kolkata.
From there, she will travel to Santiniketan in Birbhum.
Visva-Bharati Vice-Chancellor Prof Sabuj Koli Sen will welcome Hasina to Santiniketan.
She will be welcomed to the convocation of the university by Modi at the Rabindra Bhavana.
After the convocation, the prime ministers will unveil the nameplate of the Bangladesh Bhavana.
They will also deliver speeches before holding bilateral talks.
Funded by the Bangladesh government, the building has a 450-seat theatre, the largest of the university.
A library of books on Bangladesh and its relations with India is also there besides a collection of historical and cultural artifacts of Bangladesh.
Murals of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Rabindranath Tagore have been placed on the two sides of the building’s entrance.
Hasina announced the construction of the Bangladesh Bhavana during the joint celebrations of Rabindranath’s 150th birth anniversary in 2011.
From the Visva-Bharati, she will travel to Kolkata on a helicopter and stay at the Taj Bengal hotel for the night.
She will visit Rabindranath’s birthplace, the Thakur Bari, at Jorasanko and meet business leaders of Kolkata at the hotel in the evening.
On Saturday, she will travel to Asansol to join the special convocation of the Kazi Nazrul University to receive honorary D Lit degree.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will also address the convocation.
On her return to Kolkata from Asansol, she will visit the Netaju Museum in the afternoon and return to Dhaka later in the night.
The prime minister visited India for the last time in April last year.
