Hasina-Modi holds bilateral talks at Hyderabad House
Indian PM Modi personally welcomed the Bangladeshi premier, who is the first foreign leader to visit India after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) formed the government for the third consecutive time
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi are holding a bilateral meeting at the Hyderabad House, following a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan earlier in the day.
Indian PM Modi personally welcomed the Bangladeshi premier, who is the first foreign leader to visit India after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) formed the government for the third consecutive time.
Earlier today, Hasina was greeted by PM Modi at the presidential residence in the national capital and was accorded a ceremonial welcome upon her arrival.
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She and PM Modi met ministers and delegates from both countries at the venue, after which she left for Rajghat to pay respects to Mahatma Gandhi.
Hasina is scheduled to hold a tete-a-tete meeting with PM Modi later in the day followed by delegation-level talks.
Additionally, discussions on a potential trade pact are expected. Over the past decade, numerous cross-border initiatives have been launched as part of a robust regional partnership plan, as per reports.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the two leaders have met each other at least ten times since 2019.
Hasina was also among seven top leaders from the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and Indian neighbourhood who attended the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his council of ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on 9 June.
Her visit comes amid an upswing in the bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh in the last few years.
Bangladesh is India's largest trade partner in South Asia, with India being Bangladesh's second largest trade partner in Asia.
India is Bangladesh's largest export destination in Asia, with approximately USD 2 billion of Bangladeshi exports recorded to India in 2022-23.
There is active cooperation between various agencies of both countries to cooperate on police matters, and anti-corruption activities and to combat illicit drug trafficking, fake currency, and human trafficking, among others.
Both leaders will witness the signing ceremony of Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) and give their press statements later in the day.
Hasina will also attend a banquet hosted by PM Modi in her honour at the Hyderabad House.
The Bangladesh Prime Minister will also call on President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar later in the day.
