By Sumi Khan
Dhaka, Feb 15 (IANS) Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra arrived in Dhaka for the regular Foreign Office Consultation on bilateral issues.
Kwatra will call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday.
On his arrival on Tuesday, Kwatra was received by his Bangladesh counterpart Masud Bin Momen.
This is Kwatra’s first visit to Dhaka as foreign secretary. Earlier, he accompanied External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on a short trip before taking charge of the new office on May 1, 2022.
“The visit is keeping in line with the highest priority accorded to India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ Policy, Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday.
During the visit, both foreign secretaries will review the entire range of bilateral issues, including politics and security, water, trade and investment, power and energy, defence, connectivity and sub-regional cooperation, it added.
The upcoming visit will “further” strengthen ties and impart momentum to ongoing cooperation in diverse areas, it added.
“Bangladesh is India’s top-most development partner and its largest trade partner in the region,” it said.
Earlier, the FOC between the two countries was held on January 29, 2021, in Delhi.
Recently, Masud said that it is a regular meeting with the Indian foreign secretary in which all the issues between the two countries will be discussed.
The discussion with Kwatra will also involve the implementation of decisions made during high-level meetings last year, Masud added.
India has included Bangladesh as a “guest state” in the alliance’s activities after assuming the G20 presidency. As part of this, AK Abdul Momen will attend the foreign minister-level meeting of the G-20 alliance in early March.
Hasina is scheduled to attend the G-20 Summit in Delhi in September.
The prime minister’s expected visit will also be discussed during the meeting, Masud told IANS.
–IANS
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