Apart from the Indian president's upcoming Bangladesh tour, border shootings, connectivity and covid cooperation featured a foreign secretary-level meeting held between the two countries on Tuesday in Dhaka.
Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla arrived in the city earlier in the day, apparently for a brush-up on the tour schedule of President Ram Nath Kovind, who arrives here on December 15.
Mr Shringla met Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen after his meeting with the Bangladesh Foreign Secretary, Masud Bin Momen, which discussed entire gamut of bilateral relations and issues of common concern.
Dr Momen told newsmen that India was eager to make the border peaceful and they proposed some measures to that end.
"We are in the golden chapter of our bilateral ties, and like us, they also do not want to do anything which can undermine this relationship," the foreign minister said.
Foreign Secretary Mr Masud said that both the countries want to see a peaceful border.
"We have multidimensional issues, including many pending issues, and we have fruitful discussion over all of these," the foreign secretary told the reporters after the delegation-level talks.
He said connectivity, green energy and covid cooperation also got focus during the meeting.
In the wake of the emergence of the new variant of the virus-Omicron-both the countries stressed the need for continuing the bilateral covid cooperation.
"We feel that if Bangladesh is not safe from the pandemic, India also cannot be safe, and in the same manner if India is not safe, Bangladesh cannot be safe," he noted about the tone of the talk on this health emergency.
As the Indian president's visit is taking place on the occasion Bangladesh's war Victory Day, the history of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War was revisited. Mr Shringla told the newsmen that both the Indian soldiers and Bangladeshi soldiers sacrificed their lives during the war.
He mentioned that after the covid pandemic Bangladesh was the first country where Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first foreign trip, and similarly, the Indian President also is going to make his first overseas visit after the pandemic to Bangladesh to take part in the golden-jubilee celebration of the independence of the country.
Shringla said that both the next-door neighbours made good progress in terms of connectivity.
"We have been able to open up five out of six pre-1965 railway links," he said, adding that the Akhaura-Agartala rail link will be operational soon.
About the possibility of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to India, he said the Bangladesh premier accepted the invitation from the Indian Prime Minister to visit India. But the schedule depends on the Covid situation.
Shringhla said that he would meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wednesday (today).
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