PM to attend B'desh's 50 years of Independence celebrations in Dhaka in Mar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bangladesh next year in March to join the celebrations to mark 50 years of Bangladesh's Independence and India-Bangladesh diplomatic relations.

"Was honoured to review our diverse ties with Bangladesh during my Virtual Summit with PM Sheikh Hasina today. We also unveiled a stamp honouring Bangabandhu (Sheikh Mujibur Rahman), and launched the Bangabandhu-Bapu museum and the Chilahati-Haldibari rail link," Modi tweeted after the Indo-Bangla bilateral summit.

"Next year, India and Bangladesh will jointly commemorate Mujib Borsho and 50 years of establishment of our diplomatic ties. I look forward to visiting Dhaka for paying my homage to the life and ideals of Bangabandhu," Modi said in his tweets in English and Bengali.

A joint statement, issued after the summit, said Hasina thanked Modi for accepting her invitation to visit Bangladesh in person in March 2021 to join the celebrations to mark 50 years of Bangladesh's Independence and Bangladesh-India diplomatic relations.

At a media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs, Joint Secretary, Smita Pant, said, "Next year will be very significant as our prime minister has accepted the invitation of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to visit Bangladesh on March 26 which is also their independence day."

To commemorate 50 years of liberation of Bangladesh and the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries a number of joint activities are being planned including holding events in select countries, organising Bangabandhu-Bapu digital exhibitions in various cities in India, Bangladesh and also the UN, and organising seminars etc., she said.

The joint statement said Prime Minister Hasina deeply appreciated the warm gesture of India in organising various events on the occasion of the ongoing Mujib Borsho'.

The two prime ministers jointly unveiled a commemorative postal stamp issued by the government of India on the occasion of the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Prime Minister Modi thanked the Bangladeshi government for issuing a stamp in honour of Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary celebrations earlier in September 2020.

An introductory video on the digital exhibition to commemorate the two great leaders of the 20th century, Mahatma Gandhi and Bangabandhu, was also screened on this occasion, the statement said.

Both leaders expressed hope that the exhibition, to be organised in various cities of Bangladesh and India and in selected cities worldwide, as well as at the United Nations, will inspire values of justice, equality and non-violence, particularly among the youth.

Both sides noted that the filming of the biopic on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, under the direction of Indian film director Shyam Benegal will commence in January 2021, the statement said.

Noting that the year 2021 will be historic in India-Bangladesh bilateral relations as they would be commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Liberation War and the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Bangladesh, it was agreed to jointly organise several activities to commemorate these two epochal events in India, Bangladesh and other countries.

The Bangladeshi prime minister requested the Indian side to consider Bangladesh's proposal to name the historic road from Mujib Nagar to Nodia on Bangladesh-India border as "Shadhinota Shorok" commemorating the historic significance of the road during Bangladesh's Liberation War.

Both sides reiterated to continue regular exchanges of groups to promote culture, education, science and technology, youth and sports and mass media.