New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee is visiting Bangladesh from tomorrow in a trip that is expected to take bilateral relations between the two neighbours to new heights.
Mukherjee, in his first trip abroad after assuming presidency, will be accompanied by Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and four MPs. His wife Suvra Mukherjee will also accompany him.
The visit comes as Bangladesh is witnessing massive clashes after a top Islamist opposition leader was sentenced to death for his role in atrocities, during the 1971 Freedom War.
To a question on the security situation ahead of the president’s visit, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said: “The overall security situation in Bangladesh is completely calm...” “We have done a lot of preparations for the visit... advance teams have gone to Bangladesh to prepare for the visit. The overall situation has been carefully examined, and it would be appropriate to carry out the visit.”
On the “unresolved issues” between the two countries — inking of the Teesta water sharing agreement and implementing the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement, Mathai said the president’s visit “is not designed to engage in political negotiations...”
“We are conscious of the need for forward movement on unresolved issues. The president will underline the government’s commitment to work on them in the shortest time frame possible.”
The four MPs accompanying the president are Sitaram Yechury, Chandan Mitra, Mukul Dey and Bhubaneshwar Kalita.
IANS
