Sheikh Hasina and Narendra Modi
In yet another outreach to Saarc countries, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today spoke on telephone to his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina and conveyed the good wishes for the holy month of Ramadan.
Modi thanked Hasina for his successful visit to Bangladesh on June 6-7 and expressed the confidence that “the visit has set the stage for a new era in bilateral cooperation and regional partnership between the two countries,” said an official statement, reports our New Delhi correspondent.
Modi also thanked “the extraordinary hospitality, friendship and goodwill that he received from the people and government of Bangladesh,” added the statement.
Modi also spoke to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani.
The Indian PM told Sharif about New Delhi’s goodwill gesture to free detained Pakistani fishermen on the occasion of Ramadan.
“Also conveyed to PM Sharif our decision to release detained Pakistani fishermen on this pious occasion,” Modi tweeted.
“The fishermen released will be able to be with their families to observe this blessed month,” he said in a separate tweet.
Modi reiterated to Prime Minister Sharif his message of peaceful, friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries, the statement said.
Modi conveyed the three Saarc leaders’ good wishes for the holy month of Ramadan to them and their people and expressed the hope for peace, tranquility and harmony in their countries and in the region during the month of piety and prayers, it added.
Modi assured President Ghani of India’s steadfast commitment to support Afghanistan in its efforts to build a peaceful, stable, secure and prosperous nation.
Modi had invited Saarc heads of state and government to his swearing in as PM on May 26 last year and then spoken to Hasina, Sharif, Ghani and Sri Lankan president just before the World Cup cricket tournament earlier this year.
Source: The Daily Star
