New Delhi, India (BBN)-Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wednesday met President Pranab Mukherjee and offered her condolences on the demise of his wife Suvra Mukherjee.
She also held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his official residence during her day-long visit to Delhi.
During the meeting, both the neighbouring premiers discussed a wide range of issues of bilateral interest.
But the detail of the discussion was not known immediately.
This is the second meeting between the Bangladesh and Indian PM since the last interaction in Dhaka when Modi had visited Bangladesh on June 6 to 7.
During Modi’s Dhaka visit, the two countries had signed 22 pacts to deepen cooperation besides ratifying the historic Land Boundary Agreement (LBA).
As per the LBA, Bangladesh and India have already exchanged a total of 162 enclaves when clock stuck 12 at midnight on July 31 this year.
A total of 111 Indian enclaves were in Bangladesh, while India housed 51 Bangladeshi enclaves.
Foreign Minister A H Mahmud Ali, Hasina’s her younger sister Sheikh Rehana and daughter Saima Wazed accompany the Bangladesh PM during her Delhi visit.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina extends her condolences to President Pranab Mukherjee on her arrival in New Delhi following the death of latter’s wife Suvra Mukherjee. Photo: Twitter
Hasina visited the 13, Talkatora Road residence of Abhijeet Mukherjee, the son of Pranab and Suvra, and placed a wreath on Surva Mukherjee’s body, which has been kept there to enable people to offer their last respects, Indian media report.
Suvra died on Tuesday at the age of 74.
Hasina reached Delhi from Dhaka Wednesday morning to attend the funeral of Suvra.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj received her at the airport.
Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj receives Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on her arrival in New Delhi on August 19, 2015. Hasina reach Delhit to attend President Mukherjee’s wife Suvra Mukherjee’s funeral. Photo: Ministry of External Affairs of India
Hasina is close to the Mukherjee family and had developed very close relations with Suvra during her life in exile in Delhi soon after the August 15, 1975 coup that saw the killing of Bangladesh’s independence architect Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members.
Hasina and Rehana escaped the mayhem because they were abroad at that time.
India had provided asylum to Hasina and Rehana for nearly six years post-coup.
Suvra Mukherjee’s ancestral home is in Bhadrabila village in western Bangladesh’s Narail district which she had visited last in March 2013.
BBN/SS/ANS
