Sri Lanka proud partner of Bangabandhu’s Bangladesh, says President Sirisena

Sri Lanka’s president has paid tribute to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, saying his country is a proud partner of the Bangladesh he envisioned.

President Maithripala Sirisena visited the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Dhanmondi after arriving in Dhaka for a three-day visit on Thursday.

Sri Lanka is “proud to be a friend and partner in achieving Bangabandhu’s vision of a peaceful and prosperous region,” wrote Sirisena as he signed the visitors’ book of the museum dedicated to the nation’s father.

He earlier visited the National Memorial in Savar to pay tribute to those martyred in Bangladesh’s Liberation War.

President Md Abdul Hamid led Sirisena’s reception at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the morning.

At least 10 agreements and MoUs on several issues are expected to the signed during his maiden visit as president. 

A bilateral meeting between President Sirisena and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled for Friday.

“On behalf of the government and people of Bangladesh, I pay tribute to the father of nation and great leader of the region whose sacrifice and vision continue to inspire his nation,” Sirisena wrote in the visitors’ book at Bangabandhu Museum.

The museum at Dhanmondi-32 is housed in the former residence of Bangabandhu, where he and most of his family members died in a military coup on Aug 15, 1975.

His daughters, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, were outside the country when the family was massacred by a group disgruntled army officers.

Hasina’s daughter Saima Wazed Hossain gave President Sirisena a tour of the museum, accompanied by State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam.

President Sirisena placed flowers in front of Bangabandhu’s portrait, and observed a minute of silence.

“I am pleased to see that Bangabandhu’s vision for this nation is being realised by his daughter Sheikh Hasina,” he also wrote in the visitors’ book.

“May the souls of those martyred here rest in peace”.