The new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to visit his country. Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj handed over the invitation to Sheikh Hasina on Thursday. The visiting Indian minister met the Prime Minister at her office around 11.30 am. The PM’s Press Secretary AKM Shamim Chowdhury told reporters after the meeting that Swaraj handed over a special invitation from Modi. Earlier on Thursday, Swaraj met her Bangladesh counterpart AH Mahmood Ali at the foreign ministry. She arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday night. It is the first visit by a minister of India’s new Narendra Modi-led government that came to power last month with overwhelming majority. Announcing the foreign minister’s first “stand-alone” visit to any country, Delhi said it would provide “further momentum to the close and friendly relationship between India and Bangladesh”. Swaraj will also meet the President Md Abdul Hamid on Thursday. She is scheduled to have meetings with the Leader of the Opposition Raushon Ershad and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia on Friday.
