A prominent road in New Delhi has been named after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh's founder, as a mark of India's respect for him.

This was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a joint media event with his visiting Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina here on Saturday.

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Hasina thanked the Indian Government for naming a New Delhi road after Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, her father.

"Bangabandu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a dear friend of India and a towering leader. As a mark of our respect and deep admiration for the father of Bangladesh, a prominent road in our capital city has been named after him," PM Modi said.

In her response, Hasina said, "I appreciate naming a road after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman."

She also added that "External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj chose the road, thank you very much".

The national capital's Park Street, located in central Delhi near RML Hospital, will now be known as Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Road.

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) approved the proposal to rename this road ahead of PM Hasina's four-day State visit to India starting from 7 April.

The NDMC vice chairman and senior BJP leader, Karan Singh Tanwar said the NDMC had taken this decision on 6 April through a "circular motion". He said the move reflected India's friendly and cordial relations with the neighbouring country.

Mr Tanwar also said the renaming of the road in this regard was cleared through a circular motion as an NDMC meeting could not be convened for the purpose due to shortage of time as well as the election model code of conduct being in place because of the 23 April Delhi civic bodies polls.

This is the fourth time that the NDMC has renamed a road in the national capital over the last couple of years. In 2015, Aurangzeb Road was renamed as A P J Abdul Kalam Road. Race Course Road, where the Prime Minister's residence is located, was renamed as Lok Kalyan Marg last year.

The NDMC had also renamed Dalhousie Road as Dara Shikoh Road after the elder brother of Mughal emperor Aurganzeb earlier this year.