Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla visited Bangladesh on 18th and 19th of this month. During his visit, he called on Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.<br />'' <br />''Briefing media, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said discussions during the meeting centered on the importance of the 100th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 2020.<br />'' <br />''The 50 years of the liberation of Bangladesh and the establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Bangladesh in 2021 were also discussed. He said India plans to issue a commemorative stamp on Bangabandhu during Mujib Barsho.<br />'' <br />''The two countries also propose to hold joint events on the occasion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had paid tributes to Bangabandhu through a video message in the inaugural Mujib Borsho celebrations in March.<br />'' <br />''Both sides also discussed the COVID-19 situation. India has provided COVID related assistance to Bangladesh and has also been organizing capacity building courses for Bangladesh medical personnel following  the video conference of the leaders of SAARC countries and the creation of the SAARC Emergency Response Fund for COVID-19.<br />'' <br />''Bangladesh has committed 1.5 million dollars to the fund. The Foreign Secretary informed Prime Minister Hasina about India's efforts towards COVID-19 vaccine development and distribution.<br />'' <br />''Both sides agreed to continue their discussions in the area of vaccines and therapeutics.<br />'' <br />''India's developmental assistance in Bangladesh as also the projects in the area of connectivity and power were discussed.<br />'' <br />''Several of these projects, including the Rampal Maitree Power Plant, India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline, and rail links between Akhaura-Agartala and Chilahati-Haldibari and Khulna-Mongla rail line are expected to get completed next year.<br />'' <br />''It was proposed that the next meeting of the Joint Consultative Commission at the level of the Foreign Ministers should be convened shortly to review the entire gamut of bilateral relationship including the projects.<br />'' <br />''It was also proposed that a high level monitoring mechanism be set up to regularly review the progress of the ongoing projects.<br />'' <br />''India's proposal to launch a travel air bubble between the two countries opening limited flights for official, business and medical travelers was appreciated by the Bangladesh side.<br />'' <br />''There were discussions relating to the cooperation in the areas  of security, including fencing and joint efforts to prevent trans-border crimes.<br />'' <br />''The issue of safe repatriation of internally displaced persons from the Rakhine state  also came up for discussion. <br />'' <br />''<span style="color: #222222;">Foreign Secretary also met his Bangladesh counterpart Masud  Bin Momen and comprehensively discussed all issues of bilateral interest.</span><br />