Bilateral relations go far beyond strategic partnership: PM in India

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has awarded the Mujib Scholarship to ten descendants of Indian soldiers who lost their lives during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. The event was held today (7 September 2022) at the Hotel ITC Maurya Sheraton in New Delhi, India. Photo: Collected

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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has awarded the Mujib Scholarship to ten descendants of Indian soldiers who lost their lives during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. The event was held today (7 September 2022) at the Hotel ITC Maurya Sheraton in New Delhi, India. Photo: Collected

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said today (7th September 2022) that Bangladesh-India relations go far beyond strategic partnership and have grown even stronger over the past decade.

“Having forged a strong partnership over the past 50 years, the two countries are working on an increasingly wide range of sectoral collaboration,” she said while conferring the Mujib scholarship on ten descendants of Indian soldiers who have lost his life during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.

The event took place at the ITC Maurya Sheraton hotel where Hasina has been staying since arriving in New Delhi for a four-day state visit, our New Delhi correspondent reports.

The India-Bangladesh relationship is known to be the “model of neighborhood diplomacy” around the world, she added.

In March last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Dhaka to attend Bangladesh’s historic celebrations of the centenary of the birth of the nation’s father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence and the 50th anniversary of the creation of the diplomacy of the two nations. reports.

The then President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, had visited Dhaka in December 2021 during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence.

Hasina said Bangladesh and India jointly celebrated December 6 as ‘Maitree Diwas’, as a historic day when India recognized Bangladesh as an independent and sovereign state in 1971, in 20 selected cities. , including Dhaka and New Delhi.

The awarding of the Mujib scholarship “is particularly close to my heart because it is an opportunity for us to pay sincere tribute to all the martyrs of Bangladesh and India who gave their lives during our war of liberation in 1971 and veterans of both countries.

“I am so thrilled to reconnect with you – the descendants of our war heroes,” she added.

“The Banglaee Nation under the leadership of Father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has struggled for economic, cultural and democratic emancipation for 24 years. Heeding the call of our great leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib, they fought for the liberation of the country,” she said adding “we witnessed an unprecedented gesture of friendship from the government and people of India as we received empathy, shelter and resources”.

Hasina said the government was lucky to be able to hold the first ceremony in 2011 when the highest civilian award given to foreign friends, the “Bangladesh Freedom Award”, was given to former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Subsequently, other awards were presented to Indian leaders, including former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former President Pranab Mukherjee.

Hasina said the Mujib scholarships, 100 each for class 10 and 100 each for class 12, conferred on the descendants of Indian veterans are a tribute to the heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in 1971 for the cause of Bangladesh.

Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was also present at the event.

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