India President Kovind to arrive in Dhaka on maiden visit

Indian President Ram Nath Kovind is set to arrive in Dhaka in his maiden tour today on a 3-day visit to join the golden jubilee celebration of independence.

President Md Abdul Hamid along with his wife will receive his Indian counterpart at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport where a special Indian Airlines plane is expected to land at 10:00 am, carrying Kovind and his entourage members.

Along with Ram Nath Kovind, Indian first lady and their daughter, India’s education minister and two parliament members alongside several senior officials will visit Bangladesh.

The Indian President will place wreaths in memory of Bangladesh’s nine-month-long 1971 Liberation War martyrs at the National Martyrs’ Memorial in Savar, plant a sapling and sign the visitors’ book there.

Later, he will visit Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum in capital’s Dhanmondi area to pay homage to the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman while Bangladesh simultaneously celebrates his birth centenary and the golden jubilee of independence.

On the same afternoon, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would pay a courtesy call on the Indian President at his suit in Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel.

President Md Abdul Hamid will host a banquet in his honor to be joined by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Bangabhaban in the evening after talks with his counterpart.

On the second day of the visit, the Indian President will join as the ‘Guest of Honor’ at the National Parade Ground on December 16 to mark the golden jubilee of the Victory Day of Bangladesh.

In the afternoon, Ram Nath Kovind will take part in a function titled ‘Great Victory Heroes’ in the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban to pay respect to Bangladesh’s Father of the Nation and to celebrate the joy of victory.

President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Jatiya Sangsad Speaker and other dignitaries will attend the event.

On the third day on December 17, the Indian President is expected to inaugurate and inspect the newly renovated section of Kali Temple. He will leave Dhaka for New Delhi in the afternoon.

ARR