Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, along with former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, called on Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi on Monday.
Sheikh Hasina was in the national capital to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his council of ministers.
The connection between Sheikh Hasina and the Gandhi family can be traced back to the relationship between their predecessors. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Sheikh Hasina’s father and the founding leader of Bangladesh, had a cordial relationship with Indira Gandhi, then prime minister of India.
Indira Gandhi played a significant role during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, supporting Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan, which has fostered a long-standing sense of gratitude and mutual respect.
Sheikh Hasina arrived in New Delhi on Saturday to attend a high-profile event in which top leaders from India's neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region including Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe participated, reports media from both home and abroad.
President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday hosted a banquet for the foreign dignitaries at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here, an official statement said.
Bangladesh foreign minister Muhammad Hasan Mahmud said that Sheikh Hasina has expressed her willingness to work with the new government in the future to strengthen the ties.
He told ANI, “...Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina attended the oath-taking ceremony (of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the council of ministers) and after that, she had a one-to-one meeting with Modi, where she again congratulated him and the NDA for winning the elections.
“She expresses her willingness to work with the new government in future to strengthen the ties.”
She has also invited Indian Prime Minister Modi to visit Bangladesh, he noted.
