Jaishankar meets Sheikh Hasina, presents his dad’s books on Bangladesh

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday during his official visit to Dhaka. Jaishankar presented Prime Minister Hasina with two books on Bangladesh written by his late father K. Subrahmanyam.

“Conveyed warm greetings of PM Narendra Modi. Her sagacity and leadership continue to inspire our relationship,” EAM Jaishankar tweeted. In a subsequent tweet, EAM said, “Presented her with two books on Bangladesh written by my late father K. Subrahmanyam. These are amongst the first books written on Bangladesh in early 1972. He would’ve been proud to see Bangladesh’s remarkable progress.”

Later, Jaishankar also inaugurated the new Indian Cultural Centre in the Baridhara Diplomatic Area of Dhaka, which would serve art and music enthusiasts alike.

During his official visit to Bangladesh, Jaishankar focused on the issues of water sharing, border killings, Covid-19 with his counterpart Dr A.K.A. Momen in Dhaka.

Speaking during a press conference on Thursday, the EAM termed Teesta water-sharing as a big issue, saying, “We did discuss it, we have a meeting of our water resources Secretaries very soon. I’m sure they will be discussing it further.”

Jaishankar’s visit is to prepare the ground for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Bangladesh and hold talks with his counterpart on the progress of bilateral ties. This will be PM Modi’s first foreign trip in more than a year mainly because of the Covid-19 pandemic.