Bangladesh FM to undertake 3-day India visit from February 7

On the first bilateral visit after the new government formed in Bangladesh, Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud will visit India for three days on February 7. Speaking to the media at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka on Thursday, he noted that the agenda of the visit is yet to be finalised. “I will be visiting the country at the invitation of Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar,” he said. Dr S Jaishankar expressed his felicitations and anticipation for collaborative efforts to enhance the enduring friendship between India and Bangladesh. India and Bangladesh share close economic ties, which have been fostered in recent times. The two countries’ bilateral trade has been $14.2 billion in 2022-23 and $8.13 billion in 2021-22. Bangladesh has been the fifth largest market for Indian goods, as per the Indian Express, only behind the United States, the UAE, the Netherlands, and China. Additionally, under Hasina, connectivity is being improved between India’s northeast and Dhaka. India has also offered more than $7 billion in Line of Credit to Bangladesh since 2010 for infrastructure and development projects.