New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will leave for Bangladesh today on her first standalone visit abroad after assuming office with India expected to raise its concerns over illegal migration and Dhaka likely to take up the land boundary agreement and Teesta water treaty.
The visit is considered another step forward in the National Democratic Alliance government’s outreach in the neighbourhood which started with Prime Minister Narendra Modi inviting leaders from SAARC countries for his swearing in last month.
Ahead of the visit, India, however, stated that there was no proposal on the table to provide visa-free travel to Bangladeshi nationals. During Sushma Swaraj’s three-day visit which ends on Friday, the two sides are slated to discuss various matters of bilateral interest.
Relations between India and Bangladesh have been on the upswing over the last few years and the visit is seen as another effort to cement ties with “a close friend”.
Officials said that Sushma Swaraj choosing Bangladesh for her first standalone visit abroad reflects the importance that India attaches to its bilateral relationship with its eastern neighbour.Modi’s first visit had been to Bhutan.
It will be the first contact of India’s new foreign minister with Bangladesh’s top political leadership. The visit is being described as one for “goodwill” and Sushma Swaraj is likely to carry a goodwill message for Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who couldn’t attend Modi’s swearing-in as she was on a foreign trip. Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury had represented Bangladesh.
During her visit, which comes at the invitation of Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, Sushma Swaraj will hold talks with her counterpart and will also call on Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid and Sheikh Hasina.
The minister will also engage with think-tanks, chambers of commerce and industry and cultural organisations. IANS
