Prime Minister Narendra Modi set all protocols aside and received Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina at the Delhi airport today. The Bangladeshi PM is on a four-day visit to India and is expected to hold a wide range of talks with PM Modi tomorrow. It is also expected that India will announce a line of credit of $500 million to the neighbouring country for military supplies. India will try everything to showcase the importance of Bangladesh in its neighbourhood policy. PM Modi visiting Hasina at the airport is a prime example of the efforts India is ready to take. Modi, ever since he became the PM, has received two other guests in the country at the airport- former US President Barack Obama and UAE crown prince Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed. This essentially means that he knows who his elite group of ‘friends’ are or at least which leaders are needed to be kept close.

Sheikh Hasina has arrived in the country for a four-day visit and will reportedly sign around 25 bilateral agreements including in key areas of civil nuclear cooperation and defence. Hasina’s visit to India has come after 7 long years. A joint statement issued by the India and Bangladesh said,”The upcoming visit is expected to further expand the cordial and cooperative relationship between India and Bangladesh and build on the strong ties of friendship and trust between the two leaders.” Hasina is also scheduled to meet President Pranab Mukherjee as well as opposition leader Sonia Gandhi. This is Hasina’s first bilateral visit to India in her current term as the PM. The main focus of the talks between Hasina and Modi will be mutual cooperation in areas like defence and security.

While the stalemate over the Teesta pact will continue, other key issues like containment of radicalism, curbing terrorism, and more cooperation in security will get prominence in the talks. Interestingly, other announcements might include the launch of a new passenger service, Maitree Express being made fully air-conditioned and facilitation by Indian Railways for launching a container train service.

PM Modi has always kept Bangladesh in mind when it comes to solving contentious issues. He sorted the ‘enclave’ issue after almost 40 years of India and Bangladesh. In his last visit to Bangladesh in 2015, Modi has announced a $2 billion Line of Credit for the development to the neighbour. Hasina too had returned the favour by announcing two economic zones for India to get Indian companies to invest there.

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Interestingly, West Bengal CM, who didn’t go with former PM Manmohan Singh during a Bangladesh visit in 2011, went with Modi in 2015 which raised speculations that the accord over Teesta river might be sorted soon. While it may not be the case soon, but Modi’s actions surely showcase the importance to strengthening India-Bangladesh ties. This is highly crucial because of the ever growing dependence of Bangladesh on China, from infrastructure to defence. It is the right time for PM Modi to strike the right cord with Bangladesh especially since the country is under a government which is not hostile towards us.