Bangladesh - News And Discussion

[Bharatvarsh]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Dhaka on PM plate, after Saarc
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi, Aug. 14: Looking to boost Bangladesh’s confidence and trust in India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh might stay back in Dhaka for an extra day after the Saarc summit in November.

Bangladesh, which has been described by sections in the Indian establishment as one of the country’s “most difficult neighbours”, has often complained of being neglected by Delhi. It has argued that despite political rhetoric, the Indian leadership is not serious about mending bilateral relations.

There are indications that Singh could have a meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart Begum Khaleda Zia on November 14 — the two-day Saarc summit ends the day before. Delhi has received a proposal in this regard from the coalition government led by the Bangladesh National Party.

This will be Singh’s first visit to Dhaka since he became Prime Minister. There has been a growing mood in South Block that he should take the opportunity of the Saarc summit to build bridges.

Singh, too, has invited the Bangladesh Prime Minister to India. The invitation letter was handed over to her by foreign minister K. Natwar Singh during his recent Dhaka visit.

But sources said Khaleda might prefer to wait for the Saarc summit to be over before travelling anywhere. Another reason why the BNP leader is hesitant to accept Delhi’s invite is that she and many of her senior colleagues believe that India continues to favour their rival Awami League.

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