Indian foreign secy to arrive today
Ranjan Mathai
Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai will arrive in Dhaka this afternoon on a three-day visit, during which he will discuss full range of bilateral issues between Bangladesh and India at foreign secretary-level meetings. Mathai's visit will also lay the groundwork for India's External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, who will pay a two-day visit to Bangladesh on February 16 to attend the Joint Consultative Commission meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart Dipu Moni. Both Mathai and Khurshid will hold extensive talks with top government leaders and officials ahead of Indian President Pranab Mukherjee's proposed visit, which is most likely to take place on March 3. According to foreign ministry sources Mathai would meet Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque tomorrow morning to hold talks on full range of bilateral issues. Mathai will discuss and review the projects and decisions envisaged in joint statements issued during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to India and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Bangladesh in 2010 and 2011. The foreign secretaries will touch a host of important issues including early conclusion of Teesta Water Sharing deal, ratification of 1974 Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) and its protocol signed in 2011 paving the way for settlement of long pending 6.5 km of undivided territories, exchange of 162 enclaves and adversely possessed lands. During his three-day visit, Ranjan Mathai will also call on Foreign Minister Dipu Moni and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to talk about India's invitation to Hasina to pay a visit there in August.
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