India accords highest priority to links with Bangladesh: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India accorded the highest priority to its relations with Bangladesh and the two nations have demonstrated great maturity and patience in the past five years in resolving a number of complex pending issues such as demarcation of their land boundary.

He made the remarks during his meeting with visiting Bangladesh President Mohammad Abdul Hamid.

An official release said that during the meeting, the leaders expressed great satisfaction "at the excellent state" of bilateral relations.

President Hamid, who represented Bangladesh at Modi's swearing-in on Thursday, conveyed felicitations of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was unable to be present because of prior commitments.

He invited the Prime Minister to visit the country which was accepted.

"Prime Minister Modi noted that the bilateral relationship, forged in Bangladesh's War of Liberation, remained of the highest priority to India. In the past five years, the two countries had demonstrated great maturity and patience in resolving a number of complex pending issues, such as the demarcation of the Land Boundary," the release said.

Modi emphasized the importance of India and Bangladesh raising ties to a new level, as part of a joint effort to suitably commemorate the centenary of the birth of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (in 2020) and the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh's Liberation, in 2021.

--IANS

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