Hasina-Modi inaugurate Bangladesh Bhaban

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Bangladesh Bhaban at Visva-Bharati University at Santiniketan near Bolpur in Birbhum district of West Bengal on Friday.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid and Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor were present at the inauguration ceremony.

Bangladesh Bhaban houses a museum showcasing Rabindranath Tagore’s association with Bangladesh, Indo-Bangla relations, and the Liberation War of Bangladesh. The Bhaban has been built with funds from the Bangladesh government.

Earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reached West Bengal capital Kolkata in India on Friday morning on a two-day visit at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the Premier and her entourage landed at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport at 9:40am (local time).

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor and Prime Minister’s four Advisers on Political, Economic, Foreign and Energy affairs are accompanying the Prime Minister.

Sheikh Hasina is also scheduled to hold a meeting with Indian PM Narendra Modi n the sidelines of the convocation at Santiniketan later in the day.

The Bangladesh Premier will attend a special convocation of Kazi Nazrul University in Asansol during the two-day official visit.

The PM will go to the Thakur Bari at Jorasanko and Netaji Museum in Kolkata.

A special flight of Bangladesh Biman will lift off PM Sheikh Hasina from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport for Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on Friday.

She will then travel to Santiniketan in Birbhum.

Visva-Bharati Vice-Chancellor Prof Sabuj Koli Sen will welcome Hasina to Santiniketan. She will be welcomed to the convocation of the university by Modi at the Rabindra Bhavana.

Following the convocation, the Bangladesh premier will unveil the nameplate of the Bangladesh Bhavana.

They will also deliver speeches before holding bilateral talks.

The Bangladesh Bhavana building has been funded by the Bangladesh government, which has a 450-seat theatre, the largest of the university.

A library of books on Bangladesh and its relations with India is also there besides a collection of historical and cultural artifacts of Bangladesh.

Murals of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Rabindranath Tagore have been placed on the two sides of the building’s entrance.

PM Sheikh Hasina announced the construction of the Bangladesh Bhavana during the joint celebrations of Rabindranath’s 150th birth anniversary in 2011.

From the Visva-Bharati, she will travel to Kolkata on a helicopter and stay at the Taj Bengal hotel for the night. She will visit Thakur Bari, Rabindranath’s birthplace at Jorasanko and meet business leaders of Kolkata at the hotel in the evening.

On Saturday, she will travel to Asansol to join the special convocation of the Kazi Nazrul University.

PM Sheikh Hasina will also receive honorary D Lit degree from the university. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will also address the convocation.

On her return to Kolkata from Asansol, she will visit the Netaji Museum in the afternoon and return to Dhaka later in the night.

This will be Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to the neighboring country after almost a year.

The Prime Minister will return home at 10:30pm on Saturday by a VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines.