On her arrival at the presidential palace, she was greeted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the PM introduced her to several ministers, including JP Nadda, Kiren Rijiju and S Jaishankar.
In brief remarks to the entire media after the ceremony, Hasina said it is possible for friendly countries such as India and Bangladesh to tackle all the problems. She said, “With friendship, you can solve any problem, so we always do that.”
Calling India “our dear friend”, Hasina recalled the hand given by India during the 1971 war that led to the emergence of Bangladesh from the erstwhile East Pakistan. She also said that Bangladesh is indebted to India for its support during the Liberation War, in a mix of Hindi, English and Bengali.
Before the meeting, Hasina was accorded a tri-services guard of honour on the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday morning.
During a meeting with external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Monday, Hasina raised the issue of instability in the Rakhine state of Myanmar and concerns that it could spread further. At a brief interaction with journalists during a diplomatic reception at the Bangladesh high commission late on Monday, Hasina said that a big country such as India can “do a lot” to help find a solution to the problem of Rohingya refugees from Rakhine.
Among the agreements expected to be signed on Tuesday is one on the sharing of the waters of the Kushiyara river that was finalised during a meeting of the bilateral Joint Rivers Commission last month. People familiar with the matter said that agreements on cooperation in railways and energy are also expected to be signed.