Indian FS to visit Dhaka early next month

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By Aminul Islam Mirja

NEW DELHI, April 22, 2019 (BSS) – Indian external affairs secretary Vijay
Gokhale will make an official tour to Bangladesh early next month to “discuss
about different bilateral and multilateral issues” with the neighbouring
country.

“Indian foreign secretary will make a two-day official visit to Bangladesh
from May 6 and the two sides are working closely to fix up the modalities of
the visit,” a highly placed diplomatic source told BSS in the Indian capital
here.

The source preferring not to be named said the two sides were now working
on fixing up the agenda to be discussed during the Indian Foreign Secretary’s
Dhaka visit.

Officials familiar with the process said Indian foreign secretary’s visit
could carry an extra importance since the 17th Lok Sabha election is going on
in India while the results were set to be declared on May 23.

Gokhale is scheduled to leave New Delhi on May 6 afternoon by a special
aircraft for Dhaka and return to India on May 8 when senior Indian foreign
service officials will accompany him.

During the visit, he is expected to call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,
Foreign Minister Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen and State Minister for Foreign Affairs
Shahriar Alam alongside holding bilateral talks with his Bangladesh
counterpart Md. Shahidul Haque.

The top foreign office bureaucrats of the two countries met last week in
New Delhi as Haque came here on a three-day official visit for campaigning
for the election to the post of Deputy Director General (DDG) of
International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

During the meeting, Bangladesh foreign secretary sought India’s support
for his election to the DDG of IOM post and also held talks with envoys of
IOM member states based in New Delhi.

India assured him to “see the matter positively”.