President Ram Nath Kovind left here today for Dhaka on a three-day state visit to attend the 50th Victory Day celebrations of the neighbouring country.
”President Ram Nath Kovind emplanes for Dhaka to participate in the special celebrations of Mujib Shato Borsho and the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s Liberation. This is the first state visit of the President since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic,” the Rashtrapati Bhavan tweeted soon after the president boarded his special aircraft.
According to Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, the president is visiting the neighouring country at the invitation of his Bangladeshi counterpart Abdul Hamid as the guest of honour at the celebrations.
“Bangladesh inviting our President to be the guest of honour on this occasion to join to commemorate this event at which he is the only foreign dignitary who will be represented. At the same time, our president going out for the first time since the COVID pandemic is also very significant,” he said.
Emphasising that the visit of the president provides an opportunity to renew India’s bonds with Dhaka, he said that bilateral relations are based on a shared geographical space, heritage and history. “It is also an occasion to take note of the width, depth, vitality and dynamism of the contemporary ties,” Shringla added.
During the visit, the president will hold a delegation-level meeting with President Hamid and also hold meetings with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen.