PM Modi to visit Bangladesh, be Guest of honour at 50th 'war of liberation' on March 26

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to visit Bangladesh on March 26 and 27, 2021, as per a release by the Prime Minister's office. He is visiting Bangladesh at the invitation of his counterpart in Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina. 

The invitation comes in connection with three very important events- the birth centenary of the country's founding leaders Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, 50 years of Bangladesh's war of liberation and 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Bangladesh. 

Guest of honour at 50th Independence Day

Bangladesh is celebrating its 50th year of Independence on March 26 this year, and PM Modi is going to grace the occasion as the guest of honour. Besides PM Modi, the heads of state and government from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives will also be present at the celebration. 

The invitation for the same was extended to PM Modi last year, as per the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh who back then had said, "We would love to see Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modin join the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of our Independence."

PM Modi was to visit Bangladesh last year as well to participate in the Mujib centenary celebration, but the visit was cancelled keeping in mind the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The PM is also supposed to hold bilateral consultations with PM Hasina, and there are talks of several Memorandum of Understandings to be signed between the heads of the two countries. Apart from this, he will also call on the President of Bangladesh H.E. Md. Abdul Hamid and will be called on by Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Dr A.K. Abdul Momen. 

This is going to be PM Modi's first trip abroad after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. "The visit of the Prime Minister to Bangladesh will be the first visit to a foreign country since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic. This highlights the priority India attaches to Bangladesh,' the release read.