Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina visits Delhi's Nizamuddin Dargah

Dhaka: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on the first day of her India tour, visited Nizamuddin Aulia Dargah, a prominent pilgrimage tourist attraction in Delhi, on Monday. Nizamuddin Dargah is the dargah of the most famous Sufi saint Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya and is visited by thousands of pilgrims every week. The saint has a major influence on the Muslims of Delhi and the world over therefore the dargah has become a binding force between India and Bangladesh. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is on a four-day visit to India, kicked off her diplomatic meets in New Delhi on Monday by holding talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Read: https://www.firstpost.com/india/bangladesh-pm-sheikh-hasina-holds-talk-with-eam-s-jaishankar-11188591.html PM Hasina was welcomed by Darshana Jardosh, Minister of State for Textiles and Railways in New Delhi upon her arrival here on Monday. Shiekh Hasina’s visit is seen as a crucial one which will further strengthen the multifaceted relationship between India and Bangladesh. Bangladesh Prime Minister also got clicked with the dancers who welcomed her. Issues which are on top of the agenda are upgrading defence cooperation, expanding regional connectivity initiatives and establishing stability in South Asia. During her visit, the Bangladesh Prime Minister will meet President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. She will also hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This visit is her first visit after both nations’ bilateral relations touched their 50th year in 2021. Last year also marked the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence and the 100th birth anniversary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of the nation. PM Modi visited Bangladesh in 2021. Maitri Diwas celebrations were held in 20 capitals around the world including Delhi and Dhaka. Prime Ministers of both countries have met 12 times since 2015. A model for regional cooperation India and Bangladesh have sought to create a model for regional cooperation besides reviving several connectivity initiatives over the last few years. The Akhaura-Agartala rail link will reopen soon, and it is anticipated that Agartala and Chittagong will be connected by air in a few weeks. The two sides are expected to ink an agreement on interim sharing of water of the Kushiyara River during Hasina’s visit. The Bangladeshi PM is also likely to travel to Ajmer in Rajasthan to visit the Dargah of revered Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti. Last month, India and Bangladesh finalised the text of the agreement on the interim sharing of river waters. The text of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) was finalised at the 38th ministerial-level meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) held in Delhi on 25 August. The commission was constituted in 1972 as a bilateral mechanism to address issues of mutual interest on common rivers. India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy Bangladesh is an important partner under India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy. The cooperation extends to all fields including security, trade & commerce, power & energy, transport & connectivity, science & technology, defence, rivers, and maritime affairs among others. Bangladesh is now India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia. Bilateral trade has grown from USD 9 billion to USD 18 billion in the last five years. Bangladesh has become the fourth largest export destination for India with a growth of over 66 per cent from USD 9.69 billion in FY 2020-21 to USD 16.15 billion in FY 2021-22. Despite the COVID pandemic, both countries were able to achieve progress on important connectivity initiatives. Bangladesh is India’s largest development partner with nearly one-fourth of the Government of India (GoI) commitment under the GoI Line of Credit (LoC) has been made to Bangladesh. Total contracts have crossed the milestone figure of USD 2 billion and total disbursements have crossed USD 1 billion. Development assistance projects cover a wide variety of sectors Bilateral development assistance projects cover a wide variety of sectors such as railways, roads and transport, power generation and transmission, inland waterways, ports and shipping, economic zones, information and communication technology, petrochemicals, renewable energy, waste management and aviation with a bulk of the projects aimed at improving connectivity. India has been a hub of medical treatment for Bangladesh nationals. Of the 2.8 lakh visas issued in 2021, 2.3 lakh were medical visas. Bangladesh is currently India’s biggest visa operation globally. In 2019, 13.63 lakh visas were issued. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.