In continuing her mango diplomacy Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has sent 500 kgs of "Harivanga" mangoes to Maldives’ president Ibrahim Mohammed Solih as a token of friendship.Rear Admiral Mohammad Nazmul Hassan, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to the Maldives handed over the mangoes to Aishath Shaan Shakir, Chief of Protocol of Maldivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.Aishath received the mangoes on behalf of the president and expressed gratitude to Sheikh Hasina for the special gift. PM Hasina has earlier gifted Harivaga mangoes, a juicy and tasty variety grown mainly in the northern district of Rangpur, to the leaders of India, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Mangoes were sent also to chief ministers of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he is touched by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s “thoughtful gesture” of sending mangoes for him from Bangladesh. Read: Sheikh Hasina gifts 2,600kg mangoes to PM Modi, Mamata Banerjee “It was a pleasant reminder of your generous hospitality in Dhaka extended to me during my recent visit to Bangladesh,” he said in a letter sent to her Bangladesh counterpart. Prime Minister Modi reaffirmed his government's commitment to progressing mutually beneficial cooperation between Bangladesh and India. Despite the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Modi said the cooperation between the two countries has continued to flourish in all areas of bilateral relations. “I’m glad that follow-up discussions and initiatives have taken place despite these disruptions.” Read: Humanity will overcome pandemic soon: Modi writes to Hasina Earlier, leading Indian media carried stories with much interest on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's gift of sweet Haribhanga mango that she sent for Indian President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other political leaders in India. Some of the media outlets in India described the gift as “mango diplomacy” while Dhaka says it is just sharing happiness with friends and neighbours in this historic year. Prime Minister Hasina on Sunday sent 2,600kgs of mango as a gift for Indian President Ram Nath Kovind, her counterpart Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of Tripura Biplab Kumar Deb and other Indian political leaders in India. Read:India: Modi govt inducts 43 new Ministers in major Cabinet rejig The care packages reached Kolkata on Sunday via Benapole Petrapol land border and were later transported to Delhi via train. Bangladesh and India decided to commemorate December 6 as Maitri Diwas, the day when India recognised Bangladesh in the year 1971.