Bangladesh has invited West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to visit Dhaka on the International Mother Language Day on Feb 21.
Published : 05 Jan 2015, 09:00 PM
State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam confirmed to bdnews24.com that the Bangladesh mission in Kolkata had reached the invitation letter to her on Monday.
He said, “Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali wrote the letter inviting her to attend the International Mother Language Day celebrations.”
“We hope she’ll come,” he said.
The Trinamool Congress leader’s visit is seen crucial since it was because of her fierce opposition that Dhaka and New Delhi had failed to ink the Teesta water-sharing treaty during former prime minister Manmohan Singh’s visit in September 2011.
She was on the prime minister’s entourage initially, but pulled out at the last minute.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who stressed better relations with neighbours in his foreign policy, revived the issue of the water-sharing deal and the ratification of the Land Boundary Agreement.
During his meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the sidelines of the SAARC summit in November in Kathmandu, Modi reiterated his commitment to resolve pending issues with Bangladesh.
Foreign Minister Ali later said he also hoped that the West Bengal chief minister would visit Bangladesh before Modi’s visit.
A senior official at the foreign ministry told bdnews24.com on Monday that the minister wrote the invitation letter apparently being confirmed about Banerjee’s visit.