President Kovind to witness Victory Day celebrations in Bangladesh today

President Ram Nath Kovind will witness Bangladesh's 50th Victory Day celebrations in Dhaka on Thursday as a guest of honour.

"The President on Thursday will witness the Victory Day parade and attend the Victory Day reception hosted by the President of Bangladesh to mark the conclusion of the "Mujib Borsho" celebrations," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday.

President Kovind is on a three-day visit to Bangladesh from December 15-17 to attend this event. He landed on Wednesday at Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and was received by Bangladeshi President Mohammad Abdul Hamid.

On Wednesday, the President met Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and congratulated the government and people of the country on the historic occasion of Mujib Borsho, the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Bangladesh and 50 years of India-Bangladesh bilateral relations.

He said that the Liberation War of Bangladesh was an inspiring episode in recent history and India was honoured to be a part of it. Further President Kovind said that, 50 years ago, India and Bangladesh began a special friendship which was laid in commonalities of language, kinship, religion and cultural ethos as well as mutual respect, MEA said in the statement.

Bangladesh has a special place in India's 'neighbourhood first' policy, the President reiterated, adding that New Delhi's development partnership with Dhaka is one of the most comprehensive and wide-ranging ones. At the same time, our relationship is mature enough to handle the most complex of problems.

( With inputs from ANI )