She is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived in New Delhi on Monday on a four-day state visit aimed at further consolidating bilateral ties between the two neighbours.

During the visit, she is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The talks are expected to cover a host of issues including security cooperation, trade and connectivity, and water sharing of common rivers.

"The forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will further strengthen the multifaceted relationship between the two countries based on strong historical and cultural ties and mutual trust and understanding," India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said on Thursday.

This is her first visit to India since 2019. While in New Delhi, she will call on President Droupadi Murmu. external Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will also call on the Bangladesh Prime Minister.

President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Modi both paid State Visits to Bangladesh in 2021 which marked the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh independence, 50 years of bilateral relationship and Mujib Barsho (100th birth anniversary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman).

Bangladesh is an important partner under India's “Neighbourhood First” policy. India's cooperation extends to all fields including security, trade & commerce, power & energy, transport & connectivity, science & technology, defence, rivers, and maritime affairs.

When it comes to trade, Bangladesh is now India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia. Bilateral trade has grown from USD 9 billion to USD 18 billion in the last five years.

Bangladesh has also become the 4th largest export destination for India with growth of over 66% from USD 9.69 billion in FY 2020-21 to USD 16.15 billion in FY 2021-22.

At the same time, Bangladesh is India’s largest development partner. Development assistance projects cover a wide variety of sectors such as railways, roads and transport, power generation and transmission, inland waterways, ports and shipping, economic zones, ICT, petrochemicals, renewable energy, waste management and aviation with a bulk of the projects aimed at improving connectivity.