UPDATE- Indian, Bangladeshi premiers meet ahead of G-20 Summit

UPDATED WITH INDIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY STATEMENT, REVISED DECK

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.

The Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Friday that both leaders welcomed the signing of three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation.

The three MoUs include cooperation in digital payment mechanisms, the renewal of the cultural exchange program for 2023-2025, and a separate MoU signed by the two countries' agricultural research councils.

According to the ministry, Prime Minister Modi expressed appreciation for Bangladesh's burden of hosting over a million people displaced from Myanmar's Rakhine State.

"(PM Modi) conveyed India's constructive and positive approach to support solutions towards safe and sustainable repatriation of the refugees," the ministry said, adding that "leaders agreed to continue working together to intensify their wide-ranging engagement."

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.