Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Dhaka on Friday on a two-day visit to Bangladesh during which he will attend the celebrations of the golden jubilee of the country’s independence, the birth centenary of ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and hold talks with his counterpart Sheikh Hasina.

Mr. Modi, who is visiting Bangladesh on his first trip to a foreign country since the outbreak of the coronavirus, was received by Prime Minister Hasina at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport upon his arrival.

The Prime Minister travelled to Dhaka on the newly-inducted custom-made Boeing 777 aircraft. He wore his mask before alighting from the aircraft and exchanging pleasantries with Ms. Hasina. He received a guard of honour at the airport.

 

The Prime Minister had on Thursday said he will hold substantive discussions with Ms. Hasina during the visit, as he expressed happiness that his first foreign tour after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic will be to a friendly neighbouring country with which India shares deep ties.

“Our partnership with Bangladesh is an important pillar of our Neighbourhood First policy, and we are committed to further deepen and diversify it. We will continue to support Bangladesh’s remarkable development journey, under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s dynamic leadership,” Mr. Modi tweeted ahead of his visit.

He wrote that he was looking forward to remembering the life and ideals of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and celebrate 50 years of Bangladesh’s War of Liberation, as well as our diplomatic ties.

Mr. Modi is scheduled to go straight to the National Martyrs’ Memorial in Savar from the airport to pay tributes to the 1971 Liberation War martyrs.

Shortly afterwards, he will visit the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi 32, originally the Bangladesh founder’s private residence, to pay homage to his memories.

Later, Mr. Modi will join the celebration programme as the guest of honour at the National Parade Square. Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid will be the chief guest at the function, which would be chaired by Prime Minister Hasina.

In the evening, Mr. Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the “Bangabandhu-Bapu Museum” jointly with his counterpart at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. He will also attend a state banquet hosted in his honour by Ms. Hasina.

On Saturday, Mr. Modi will visit the mausoleum of ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Tungipara in Gopalganj district, the first Indian dignitary to ever visit the place.

He is also scheduled to visit the Jeshoreshwari and Orkandi temples in southwestern Shatkhira and Gopalganj on Saturday.

On Saturday afternoon, Mr. Modi will hold talks with Ms. Hasina at the Prime Minister’s Office, where at least five MoUs are expected to be signed and a number of projects inaugurated virtually.

Later, he will meet President Hamid at Bangabhaban presidential palace before leaving for New Delhi in the evening.

Mr. Modi’s visit is taking place at a time Bangladesh is commemorating Mujib Borsho, the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 50 years of the country’s war of liberation. The two countries are also celebrating 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

PM uses new VVIP aircraft for 1st time

Mr. Modi on Friday went from Delhi to Dhaka on a new custom-made VVIP aircraft, using it for the first time on a foreign journey.

The B777 aircraft, which has registration number VT-ALW, was delivered by Boeing to the Indian government in October last year.  The aircraft, which has call sign AI1 or Air India One, departed from Delhi around 8 am and landed at the Dhaka airport around 10.30 a.m. on Friday, government officials said.

Another custom-made B777 aircraft, with registration number VT-ALV, was also delivered by the American aircraft giant to the Indian government in October last year. Both custom-made planes are to fly only president, vice president and prime minister of the country.

These two aircraft were part of Air India’s commercial fleet for a few months in 2018 before they were sent back to Boeing for retrofitting for VVIP travel.  The B777 planes have state-of-the-art missile defence systems called Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures and Self-Protection Suites.