PM Modi departs for two-day visit to Bangladesh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for his two-day state visit to Bangladesh here on Saturday morning.

In Bangladesh, he will attend several programmes, which include meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina.

During his visit, Prime Minister Modi will also pay tribute to martyrs of the 1971 Liberation War at the National Martyrs' Memorial and visit the Bangabandhu National Museum to pay tribute to Bangladesh's Founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

To promote greater people-to-people ties and connectivity, Prime Minister Modi, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will flag off bus services on the Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala and the Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati routes respectively.

Thereafter, all three will witness the exchange of instrument of ratification of the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in Dhaka.

This will be followed by a restricted meeting between both leaders and a handing over documents.

Thereafter, there will be delegation-level talks, a signing of bilateral agreements and a programme to unveil plaques for various grant-in-aid projects.

On Saturday evening, the Prime Minister will attend a state banquet-cum-cultural programme  organised in his honour by his Bangladeshi counterpart.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Modi is expected to visit the Dakheshwari Temple and the Ramkrishna Mission.

Thereafter, he is expected to visit the new Indian chancery complex before moving on to Bangabhawan to call on President Abdul Hamid. Here, he will receive the Award of Liberation War Honour on behalf of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

He will attend a luncheon hosted by President Hamid before moving on to meet the Leader of Opposition.

He is also expected to interact with the youth and student community before departing for India late on Sunday evening.

The Prime Minister had earlier in a post on his Facebook page said that he was looking forward to his visit "with a great sense of enthusiasm and delight".

"I am certain my visit will be beneficial for the people of both our nations

and in the larger good of the South Asian neighbourhood," Prime Minister

Modi had stated.