Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he is touched by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s “thoughtful gesture” of sending mangoes for him from Bangladesh.
“It was a pleasant reminder of your generous hospitality in Dhaka extended to me during my recent visit to Bangladesh,” he said in a letter sent to her Bangladesh counterpart.
Prime Minister Modi reaffirmed his government’s commitment to progressing mutually beneficial cooperation between Bangladesh and India.
Despite the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Modi said the cooperation between the two countries has continued to flourish in all areas of bilateral relations. “I’m glad that follow-up discussions and initiatives have taken place despite these disruptions.”
Earlier, leading Indian media carried stories with much interest on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s gift of sweet Haribhanga mango that she sent for Indian President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other political leaders in India.
Some of the media outlets in India described the gift as “mango diplomacy” while Dhaka says it is just sharing happiness with friends and neighbours in this historic year.
Prime Minister Hasina on Sunday sent 2,600kgs of mango as a gift for Indian President Ram Nath Kovind, her counterpart Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of Tripura Biplab Kumar Deb and other Indian political leaders in India.
The care packages reached Kolkata on Sunday via Benapole Petrapol land border and were later transported to Delhi via train.
Bangladesh and India decided to commemorate December 6 as Maitri Diwas, the day when India recognised Bangladesh in the year 1971.
Source: United News of Bangladesh