Hasina, Modi to hold talks on Oct 5

The bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi will take place on Oct 5 in New Delhi, the foreign minister said.

AK Abdul Momen said the prime minister will leave for her first visit to India, after coming to power for a third consecutive term, on Oct 3 to attend the Indian Economic Forum.

 “She will attend the Forum on Oct 3 and 4 and then the bilateral meeting will be held on Oct 5,” Momen told reporters at a luncheon hosted by the Bangladesh new ambassador-designate to China Mahbub Uz Zaman. He will join the mission in October.

The foreign minister highlighted the relations between Bangladesh and India and said they keep “trust” in India’s promise on the Assam’s NRC that New Delhi said “is entirely India’s internal affairs”.

But analysts argue that those finally become non-citizens of India may be pushed into Bangladesh territory.

Momen did not mention anything specific on the agenda, but said a whole range of issues will be discussed.

Bangladesh and India are currently enjoying the best of relations.

Over 100 agreements have been signed in the last 10 years, 68 of which were concluded in the last three years alone. The decades-old land boundary and maritime issues have been solved, but the equitable share of the Teesta river water remains unresolved.