Kovind gives Hasina sweet treats made at India’s presidential palace

Indian President Ram Nath Kovind has brought sweets, cakes and biscuits made at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the country’s presidential palace, for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

He presented the gifts to the Bangladesh leader when they met at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka on Wednesday. 

The Indian president is in Dhaka on a three-day visit to take part in the celebrations marking 50 years of Bangladesh’s victory over Pakistan in the Liberation War, and the closing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s birth centenary.

He also thanked Hasina for the mangoes she sent as a gift earlier.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam met Kovind at the hotel earlier and briefed the media after Hasina’s meeting with the Indian president.

“We’ve told him that the golden chapter of India-Bangladesh friendship is an example for other nations. We settled big issues through discussions,” said Momen.

Hasina told Kovind that Bangladesh and India have established peace in the region through continuous cooperation and they will move further forward, according to Shahriar. The prime minister emphasised greater cooperation to eliminate poverty.

She thanked Kovind for visiting Bangabandhu Memorial Museum. The Indian president expressed “deep sorrow” after seeing the memorabilia of the Aug 15, 1971 massacre of Bangabandhu’s family.

Bangabandhu’s daughters Hasina and Sheikh Rehana escaped the carnage as they were abroad. India provided Hasina with asylum after Bangabandhu’s assassination. In the meeting with Kovind, Hasina expressed gratitude to India and its former prime minister Indira Gandhi for the support extended to her family.

Momen said the two sides also discussed the issues of connectivity between the neighbouring countries and the Rohingya refugee crisis, among others.

Asked if Bangladesh raised the Teesta water-sharing issue and the killings of Bangladeshis by India’s Border Security Force, Shahriar said, “The foreign minister said we settled many issues, and the rest can be solved through discussions.”