PM Modi holds talks with Bangladesh PM Sheikh Haseena, hails India Bangladesh ties

Ahead of the highly anticipated G20 Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Bangladesh premier touched down in New Delhi to attend the international event, since Bangladesh was among the guest countries invited to take part in the summit. The meeting between the two world leaders took place shortly after PM Modi’s bilateral talks with Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth. Hours before the meeting, the Chief Coordinator for India's G20 Presidency,  Harsh Vardhan Shringla called the meeting a “crucial one.” 

“It is important to note that we have invited Bangladesh as a very close and friendly neighbour. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is here and is having one of the early meetings with the Prime Minister and I think it is a very important one,” Shringla asserted at the pre-summit press briefing conducted by the Ministry of External Affairs. The meeting between PM Modi and Hasina was conducted at the Prime Minister's residence in Lok Kalyan Marg. 

“It is important to note that we have invited Bangladesh as a very close and friendly neighbour. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is here and is having one of the early meetings with the Prime Minister and I think it is a very important one,” Shringla asserted at the pre-summit press briefing conducted by the Ministry of External Affairs. Bangladesh is currently gearing up for the upcoming general elections that have attracted the attention of countries like the US, India and China. 

'Had productive deliberations'

Sharing the insights from the productive talks with Hasina, PM Modi tweeted in both English and Bangla to honour the Bangladeshi premier. “Had productive deliberations with PM Sheikh Hasina. The progress in India-Bangladesh relations in the last 9 years has been very gladdening. Our talks covered areas like connectivity, commercial linkage and more,’ the Prime Minister wrote on X. The prime minister wrote the same tweet in Bangla to honour the Bangladeshi premier. 

Meanwhile, Hasina’s daughter Saima Wazed accompanied her mother during her trip to India to attend the G20 Summit. The appearance of Wazed at a second high-profile international event after a trip with Bangladesh’s President Mohammed Shahabuddin to Indonesia earlier this week to attend the Asean summit where her candidature for a WHO post was announced to a global audience, has also sparked speculation that she may in time be given a larger political role in the ruling Awami League. During her visit, Hasina will be inaugurating a rail link with Tripura and the second unit of the Rampal power plant along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, virtually from Delhi at functions on the sideline of the G20 Summit. 

(With inputs from PTI)