Modi, Rajapaksa among world leaders to attend 50th anniv of B'desh independence

Dignitaries to also mark birth centenary of Bapu

Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih will be the first top foreign dignitary to arrive on a three-day tour on March 17, followed by Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on March 19 on a two-day tour.

Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari will be in Dhaka on a two-day tour from March 22 while Bhutanese premier Lotay Tshering will visit the country from March 24 to March 25.

Prime Minister Modi will arrive on March 26 on a two-day visit and will join the main Independence Day celebrations that also marks 50 years of Bangladesh-India diplomatic relations. The foreign dignitaries will also visit Bangabandhu Museum to mark the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation

Dhaka, March 13

Several world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and heads of state and government from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives, are set to visit Bangladesh later this month to participate in the grand celebrations to mark the Golden Jubilee of the country’s independence from Pakistan.

The golden jubilee celebrations to be held from March 17-27 to mark the country’s independence from Pakistan after the 1971 Liberation War also coincides with the birth centenary of Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Prime Minister Modi and four heads of state and government from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives will be among the distinguished foreign guests to join the celebrations under separate schedules, Bangladesh government’s principal information officer Surath Kumar Sarkar said.

Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih will be the first top foreign dignitary to arrive on a three-day tour on March 17, followed by Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on March 19 on a two-day tour.

Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari will be in Dhaka on a two-day tour from March 22 while Bhutanese premier Lotay Tshering will visit the country from March 24 to March 25.

Prime Minister Modi will arrive on March 26 on a two-day visit and will join the main Independence Day celebrations that also marks 50 years of Bangladesh-India diplomatic relations.

The foreign heads of state and government will join separately as part of the celebrations while Modi’s visit would be an extended one which would take him to three places outside Dhaka, Sarkar said.Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, in a media briefing, said Prime Minister Hasina would hold talks with all visiting heads of state and government, “but the main thrust of their tours was to join our celebrations”. The talks between Hasina and the visiting South Asian leaders are expected to yield several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), he said. Hasina would hold talks with her Indian counterpart Modi on March 27, the second day of his tour, during which all major bilateral issues are expected to feature, the minister said. Diplomatic sources said Chinese, Canadian and French heads of government along with some high-level leaders Japan and the US would send video messages congratulating the government and Bangladeshis on the occasion, Momen said.

The foreign dignitaries will also visit Bangabandhu Museum to mark the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation. PTI