"Bangladesh-India relations have been on an upward trajectory in the last few years," he said when Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen met him in New Delhi.
Prime Minister Modi mentioned that the partnership between Bangladesh and India is flourishing under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
He reaffirmed India’s sincere commitment to Bangladesh’s prosperity and development, according to the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi.
Modi viewed that the Bangladesh-India relation is a model between the two neighbouring countries which needs to be showcased for wider audience around the world.
While thanking Prime Minister Modi for India's humanitarian assistance to Rohingyas, the Bangladesh Foreign Minister requested India’s support for early repatriation of the Rohingys to Rakhine State of Myanmar.
Prime Minister Modi reiterated that India is always with Bangladesh and assured of India’s cooperation in this regard.
The Prime Minister congratulated Dr Momen on his appointment as the Foreign Minister.
He appreciated Dr Momen's gesture of selecting India as the destination for his first foreign visit, according to the Press Information Bureau (PIB) of India.
Dr Momen briefed the Prime Minister on recent development in the bilateral relationship.
Indian Prime Minister Modi was the first among the global leaders to congratulate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after her party Awami League’s absolute victory in the December-30 general election.
Foreign Minister Dr Momen conveyed the greetings of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
He also conveyed her appreciation to Prime Minister Modi for extending congratulations upon the victory of Awami League in the parliamentary elections, held in December 2018 as the first foreign leader.
Foreign Minister Dr Momen expressed his satisfaction over the excellent bilateral relations that exist between the two countries which have grown and prospered, especially with the statesmanship of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister Modi.
He stressed that Bangladesh would continue her resolve in further strengthening and deepening her relations with India in the coming days.
He recalled that the two countries amicably resolved the longstanding problems which is much appreciated by the respective peoples.
The Foreign Minister mentioned about the remarkable progress Bangladesh has achieved during the last few years in the socio-economic sectors under the Awami League government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
He also elaborated on the road map of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to realise the dream of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to build Bangladesh as Sonar Bangla.
Foreign Minister Dr Momen also met former Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Dr Anand Sharma.
He conveyed greetings of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Dr Manmohan Singh.
They expressed satisfaction at the excellent state of bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India.
Dr Manmohan conveyed congratulations to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for being elected as the Prime Minister for the third time.
He noted that thecearly repatriation of Rohingyas is a priority and assured that they will be supporting the government of India in any initiative to expedite repatriation of Rohingyas to Rakhine State.
He hoped that both the countries would be able to resolve the remaining outstanding issues between the two countries, including the Teesta Water sharing soon.
5th JCC Meet Friday
Foreign Minister Dr Momen is visiting New Delhi on his maiden official tour abroad as the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh to attend the 5th meeting of India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission on Friday.
Dr Momen and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will lead Bangladesh and Indian delegations respectively at the 5th JCC meeting.
Bangladesh and India have planned to sign five MoUs during the next round of foreign minister-level bilateral talks on Friday, aiming to take the relations between the two countries to a newer height, an official told UNB.
The documents that are likely to be signed are MoU between the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of Bangladesh and the National Medical Plants Board, India on cooperation in the field of medicinal plants, MoU between National Centre for Good Governance, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of India and Ministry of Public Administration, Bangladesh on tanning and capacity building programme for Bangladesh Civil Servants and MoU between Hiranandani Group and Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) for developing Indian Economic Zone in Mongla, Bangladesh.
Two more MoUs between Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and state-run Bangladesh Television (BTV) and Prasar Bharti of India are also planned to be signed.
The 5th JCC meeting will review the progress made in areas such as trade and investment, security, connectivity, border management, power, energy, shipping, people-to-people exchanges, apart from Rohingya issue, said a diplomatic source.
The two countries will also discuss the common challenges and find ways on how the two friendly countries along with other like-minded nations can continue fighting the scourge of terrorism, extremism and radicalisation, the source indicates.
Dr Momen will leave New Delhi for Dhaka on Saturday morning after wrapping up his first foreign tour as Foreign Minister.
The 4th Joint Consultative Commission between Bangladesh and India, led by former Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj respectively, was held in October 2017.