Dhaka, Delhi for greater cooperation on 2 historic years

Dhaka, Oct 6 (UNB) – Bangladesh and India have emphasised the need for “greater cooperation” to commemorate 2020 and 2021, two historic years in Bangladesh-India relations.

The birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman will be celebrated in 2020 and 50 years of Bangladesh’s War of Liberation, and the establishment of Bangladesh-India bilateral diplomatic ties in 2021.

To commemorate these two anniversary years, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi agreed to enhance cultural interactions between the two countries.

The issue was discussed during a meeting between the prime ministers of the two countries held in New Delhi on Saturday.

Indian Prime Minister Modi proposed to organise a ‘Festival of India’ in Bangladesh at a mutually convenient period during 2019-2020.

Sheikh Hasina thanked the Indian Prime Minister for the proposal, according to an official document.

Both the prime ministers also welcomed the renewal of the MoU on Cultural Exchange Programme during the visit.

They directed the officials concerned to expedite the work towards agreement between National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) and Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) for co-production of feature film on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in time for the celebrations of his birth centenary in 2020.

Indian Prime Minister Modi thanked the government of Bangladesh for agreeing to release a commemorative postal stamp on the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, who is celebrated across the world for his philosophy of non-violent struggle against colonialism and inequity.

The two leaders agreed to have an MoU on cooperation between the National Museum (India) and Bangabandhu Museum (Bangladesh), and directed the officials concerned to finalise the MoU at the earliest.

Bangladesh and India also emphasised the importance of enhanced cooperation between youths of both countries as an investment in the future.

They mentioned the signing of an MoU on Co-operation in Youth Affairs as a step in this direction.

The two leaders recognised that structured training programmes suitable for Bangladesh will be even more productive.

They directed the authorities concerned of both the countries for the early conclusion of the MoU on mutual recognition of academic qualifications.