India and Bangladesh will seek to further strengthen their bilateral ties during the summit here between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Sheikh Hasina.  She will visit India from September 5 to 8.

Announcing the visit here on Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs said Hasina will hold talks with Modi.  She will also meet President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Giving details here, ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said Hasina is also likely to visit Ajmer. He said in recent years, both sides have sustained a high level of engagement between the two countries. The forthcoming visit will further strengthen the relationship between the two countries, Bagchi added.The two sides will review the entire spectrum of their bilateral ties including defence and trade during the summit.  Hasina had last come here in 2019 and it will be her first visit abroad since the corona pandemic broke out in 2020.

Besides defence and trade, the two leaders are likely to ink a pact for   water-sharing of the Kushiyara River and an extension of the Ganga treaty.   The long-awaited agreement on sharing of water of the Teesta River make take some more time and the two leaders may discuss ways to expedite it, sources said.

The visiting Prime Minister will also meet the Indian business delegation here and the two countries may sign a pact between Indian Oil and Beximco for import of LNG from India to Bangladesh to meet domestic needs for energy. 

The two prime ministers may also jointly inaugurate a “Swadhinata Sarak” from Bangladesh to India virtually.  With focus on enhancing connectivity through land, sea and rail and people to people contact, both the countries are keen to have robust trade ties with all the seven north-eastern states and Bangladesh.

Apart from the official engagements in the national capital, Hasina is scheduled to offer prayers at the Ajmer Sharif dargah and the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti during her visit.

Underlining the neighbourhood first policy, Modi had visited Dhaka last year for the commemoration of 50 years of Bangladesh’s war of liberation and the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.