Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will visit New Delhi after India's election, said Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud.
The prime minister was scheduled to visit India in the last week of June, as elections in India will be held throughout May. The neighbouring country is set to form a new government on June 4.
During a press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, Hasan Mahmud said, "The prime minister will definitely visit India, but after the elections."
Sheikh Hasina attended the G-20 summit in Delhi in September last year, where she held a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
This visit marked the prime minister's final trip abroad before the 12th general election in Bangladesh.
Following her re-election for the fourth consecutive term, Sheikh Hasina made her first foreign visit to Germany.
Last February, she attended the Munich Security Conference in the European country, which was a multilateral programme rather than a bilateral visit.
The prime minister may participate in more such multilateral forums before her upcoming visit to Delhi.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is also likely to visit China in July as she received an invitation from Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen, according to PM's Speech Writer Md Nazrul Islam.
Mr Islam briefed the media after the Chinese envoy met the PM at Ganabhaban on Wednesday.
Ambassador Yao Wen said the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and China, especially trade, investment and people-to-people contact, are expected to reach new heights after the visit.
"The development partnership between Bangladesh and China will be further strengthened," the ambassador said, adding that he had also requested the prime minister to use the maiden flight of Bangladesh Biman's Dhaka-Beijing route for her upcoming visit to inaugurate the route.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sought Chinese cooperation for the development of Bangladesh's southern region, according to state-owned news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS).
"Direct road communication has already been established with the country's southern region through the Padma Bridge. I want China to help Bangladesh for its further development," PM's Speech Writer Md Nazrul Islam quoted her as saying in the media briefing after the meeting.
Sheikh Hasina told the Chinese envoy that the southern region of the country had been neglected for too long as no government except the Awami League had taken effective steps for its development.
Turning to cooperation, the Chinese ambassador requested the prime minister to offer specific proposals for the southern region's development.
Mentioning that China is a major development partner of Bangladesh, the Prime Minister expressed hope that the cooperation between the two countries would strengthen in the days to come.
She said that there would be a deep seaport in Paira and China could take advantage of that.
Sheikh Hasina mentioned that the southern part of Bangladesh is the most vulnerable area of the country.
In this connection, she said that there are some big rivers in this area and the effects of climate change are much wider. "We are now giving priority to the development of this area," she added.
Talking about the last election, she said it was a challenging one from various aspects. "We've overcome that and held a peaceful election."
The Chinese envoy pledged assistance in completing the unfinished works of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's leadership. "China will remain beside Bangladesh to implement Sheikh Hasina's Smart Bangladesh vision by 2041," he added.
He expressed China's interest in investing in agriculture, green energy, ICT and manufacturing sectors, along with exploring partnerships for a metro rail in Bangladesh.
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