The forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to New Delhi will further strengthen the multifaceted relationship between the two countries based on strong historical and cultural ties and mutual trust and understanding, says India on Thursday. PM Hasina will pay a state visit to India on September 5-8 at the invitation of her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. She last visited New Delhi in October 2019. Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Thursday said they will soon brief the media in detail about the upcoming visit of the Prime Minister. During her visit, PM Hasina will meet Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar apart from holding bilateral consultations with her counterpart Modi. Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will call on PM Hasina, said the Ministry of External Affairs. Hasina is also likely to visit Ajmer. Also read: “BGB vigilant, none can enter from Myanmar now” In recent years, both sides have sustained a high level of engagement, including at the highest level, MEA said. Bangladesh and India have finalised the text of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on interim water sharing of Kushiyara River ahead of PM Hasina's visit. The first unit of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant will go into commercial operation in early October in a major stride in growing Bangladesh-India power sector cooperation, officials said. Unit-I of 1320 (2x660) MW coal-fired power plant was successfully synchronized with the national grid on August 15. After completion and successful synchronization of Unit-I of the power plant, further synchronization-related activities are currently being undertaken, following which Unit-I will be handed over to the government of Bangladesh, said the officials involved in the project. Prime Minister Hasina and her Indian counterpart Modi are expected to jointly announce the completion of Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant first unit’s construction during her visit to India. The two countries also welcomed finalisation of the design and location of water intake point on the Feni river to meet the drinking water needs of Sabroom town in Tripura as per the October 2019 Bangladesh-India MoU on this subject. Also read: UN lauds Bangladesh's good practices in countering terrorism, preventing violent extremism At the 38th ministerial level Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) meeting held in New Delhi on August 25, Bangladesh requested India in signing the MoU for withdrawal of water by Bangladesh and India from the common stretch of Kushiyara River at an early date. The Indian side assured that the issue is under their consideration. Both sides agreed to conduct the feasibility study for optimum utilization of water received by Bangladesh under the provision of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, 1996. India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers, of which seven rivers have been identified earlier for developing the framework of water sharing agreements on priority.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Thursday hoped that all outstanding issues with India including the signing of the Teesta water sharing treaty will be concluded at an early date. He recalled that the two countries had resolved many of the outstanding issues in the spirit of friendship and cooperation. Momen and his visiting Indian counterpart S Jaishankar “comprehensively” discussed the bilateral issues at a meeting held at Foreign Service Academy here. He also sought the support of India for the speedy repatriation of the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals – Rohingyas - to their country of origin, according to a media release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here. Momen reiterated that India is the most important neighbour for Bangladesh, noting that over the last few years, both the countries have achieved remarkable progress in a number of areas. Read: Hasina offers Ctg port for use by India’s north-eastern states Both the foreign ministers expressed satisfaction with the ongoing cooperation between the countries and discussed the possible dates of the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India to further cementing the ties. Jaishankar said he conveyed to PM Hasina the personal greetings and good wishes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to her to visit India at her convenience later this year; also exchanged views on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest with the Prime Minister. “We look forward to her visit to India at a time of her convenience” Both the foreign ministers noted that 2021 was a landmark year for the Bangladesh-India relationship as the President and Prime Minister of India visited Bangladesh in a single year. Both the counties celebrated the 50 years of diplomatic ties through the joint celebration of a number of landmark events across the world. They underscored the necessity of holding of the next round of Joint Consultation Commission (JCC) meeting at the earliest convenience of both sides. Both sides stressed on following up the decisions taken at the highest level for their effective implementation for mutual benefit. Momen expressed satisfaction over rise of trade volume between the two countries and announcement of 200 scholarships by the Government of Bangladesh for the family members of war veterans of India who fought for Bangladesh in 1971. Read: Growing Dhaka-Delhi interactions good reflection of trust: Jaishankar Jaishankar stressed that Bangladesh features as the most important country in the Indian Foreign Policy objectives of 'Neighbour First ’. He stated that Bangladesh and India have been maintaining excellent relationship even during the pandemic when the whole world was at a standstill. Jaishankar appreciated Bangladesh for the transformative socio-economic development under the dynamic leadership of  Hasina. He emphasized on promoting trade, commerce and connectivity especially in the light of supply chain disruption resulting from covid-19 restrictions and recent conflict in Ukraine. The Indian minister assured of India's cooperation in resolving some of the concerns of Bangladesh including the early repatriation of forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals to their country of origin. He also stressed on early and timely completion of some of the projects funded by India and on the need of sub-regional cooperation in all matters, particularly in the energy sector. Jaishankar arrived here on Thursday afternoon leading a high level delegation including Foreign Secretary-designate Vinay Mohan Kwatra. On Friday morning, he would depart Dhaka for Paro, Bhutan.