New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will pay an official visit to Dakha on Thursday to invite Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to visit India.
"Yes, the EAM will pay a one-day visit to Dhaka on Thursday,” ANI quoted Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla as saying.
“He will carry a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to invite Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to visit India,” Dhaka Tribune quoted Shringla as saying, according to the news agency.
The Foreign Secretary made this assertion while responding to queries from the journalists at an event at the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi.
Earlier on Monday, Foreign Secretary Shringla and Bangladesh High Commissioner Muhammad Imran attended the award-giving ceremony for felicitating winners of a competition conducted on the occasion of India-Bangladesh Friendship Day.
“FS @harshvshringla and Bangladesh High Commissioner Muhammad Imran felicitated the winners of the India-Bangladesh #MaitreeDiwas logo and backdrop competition. Also shared views on further strengthening bilateral ties, including youth connect, innovation and emerging areas,” MEA official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.
The External Affairs Minister is also scheduled to visit Bhutan.
Though there is no official information yet from the Indian side in this regard, the Bhutan Foreign Ministry has said Dr Jaishankar will be in the country on April 29 and 30.
“His Excellency Dr. S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of the Government of India will make an official visit to Bhutan from 29-30 April 2022, at the invitation of Hon’ble Lyonpo (Dr.) Tandi Dorji, Minister for Foreign Affairs,” the Bhutan Foreign Ministry said in a release.
The release said Dr S Jaishankar will be accompanied by senior officials from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), adding this will be the first high-level official visit since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“During the visit, Dr. Jaishankar will receive Audiences with His Majesty The King and His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo,” the Bhutan Foreign Ministry said.
Dr Jaishankar will during his visit also call on Bhutan Prime Minister Lotay Tshering and meet with his Bhutanese counterpart Tandi Dorji to discuss matters of mutual interest.
“The visit is in keeping with the long-established tradition of regular exchange of high-level visits between Bhutan and India. The External Affairs Minister’s visit will further strengthen the already existing close ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries,” the ministry added.