Indian, Bangladeshi premiers meet ahead of G-20 Summit

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI(AA) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in the Indian capital New Delhi on Friday.

“Had productive deliberations with PM Sheikh Hasina. The progress in India-Bangladesh relations in the last 9 years has been very gladdening. Our talks covered areas like connectivity, commercial linkage, and more,” Modi wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

During her visit, three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) are expected to be signed which included cooperation in agriculture research, cultural exchange programs, and easing transactions between both countries.

Sheikh Hasina’s trip to India is expected to focus on issues such as climate change, post-COVID-19 recovery, and disruption in the global supply of food, fuel, and other essential commodities due to the war in Ukraine.

Bangladeshi prime minister will address two sessions in the G-20 Leaders’ Summit which will start on Saturday in New Delhi with the theme of “One Earth, One Family and One Future.”

At its core, the G-20 is an intergovernmental forum primarily concerned with economic issues made up of the world’s 20 largest economies – 19 countries and the EU. It plays an important role in shaping and strengthening global architecture and governance on all major international economic issues.

The member states are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, the UK, and the US.

Besides the members, term president India also invited the leaders of Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Egypt, Mauritius, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and the UAE.

Modi also held a bilateral meeting with Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth.

“This is a special year for India-Mauritius relations as we mark 75 years of diplomatic ties between our nations. We discussed cooperation in sectors like infrastructure, FinTech, culture and more,” he said on X.