FROM NEW DELHI: Let us recall the second week of 2010 when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid her India tour. That time she was handed the Indira Gandhi Award for her outstanding contribution to the democracy.

This historic tour ended up with a joint statement with 50 bilateral issues for future resolving.  During last five years many of those issues have been on boarded and resolved sans two major and important ones.

They are Teesta Water Sharing Treaty and the Land Boundary Agreement, which both the countries are longing for several decades.

Meanwhile, India has experienced a major political change in the form of assuming BJP-led NDA as its ruler and this has been possible due to the charismatic leadership Narendra Modi, also incumbent prime minister of India.

The Modi government is significantly maintaining the good relationship with its neighboring countries.

There were many speculations over the Indo-Bangla relationship after the general election in Bangladesh and before the general elections of India. Both the countries media was pondering over the matter, mostly in a negative fashion.

But everything seemed positive after the taking over the India’s Prime Minister’s Office by Narendra Modi. Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury participated in the initiation of Modi as Prime Minister.

He also sent his Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj to Bangladesh. She carried with her the message of friendship as well as Modi’s invitation to Sheikh Hasina to visit India.

This started the speculation of the probable meeting date of Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina and India’s Premier Narendra Modi.

Finally, the highly expected meeting will be held in New York, in the sideline of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) though the date is yet to be fixed.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali confirmed the matter in a press release on Wednesday noon.

“Now the meeting is fixed but what is agenda?” Everyone is thinking about it. Minister AH Mahmood Ali though talked about the UNGA, talked nothing about the Hasina-Modi meeting, saying he would address the issue at the Airport on Thursday morning.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali is set to fly to New Delhi to participate in the 3rd BD-India Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) meeting. The trajectory of Hasina-Modi future meeting will be fixed there.

Diplomatic sources said any meeting will be held in a cordial and friendly environment as the interpersonal relationship between the countries is smoother now.

As a result, India will give priority to the aspirations of Bangladesh and on the other hand, India also has some expectations to the relatively smaller neighbour Bangladesh.

A source also said in spite of consensus in various issues, the main headache of India is its security. Recently, Bangladesh declared that no one can use its land against its neighbours.

As a proof of the announcement Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the elite force of the country, has recovered huge amount of arms from the Satchhari border area in Satkhira district. This has paved the way to sign the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) which will help in terminating the border killing.

Diplomatic sources also confirmed saying that India is also showing positive tendency about signing the Teesta Water Agreement. So, it can be said India’s concern is security and Teesta for Bangladesh.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali also will carry Sheikh Hasina’s invitation to Narendra Modi to visit Bangladesh.

New Delhi sources said Modi is also interested in visiting Bangladesh but not in an empty hand. There would be nothing amazing if Modi visits Bangladesh during the Independence Day of Bangladesh, on December 16, and that would be the most auspicious day to give something to a friendly country.

BDST: 2154 HRS, SEP 17, 2014