B’desh envoy makes maiden visit to Agartala, discusses key issues

The High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India, Riaz Hamidullah, who is on a four-day visit to Tripura, on Friday met Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha and visited various places in the state, including the Integrated Check Post (ICP) along the India-Bangladesh border here, officials said.

In a post on X, the Chief Minister’s office said: “H.E. Mr. Riaz Hamidullah, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India, paid a courtesy call on Hon’ble Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha today at CM’s Official Residence.”

The Bangladesh envoy, after visiting the ICP and talking with the officials of the Land Port Authority of India (LPAI), told the media that the relationship between Tripura and the whole of eastern Bangladesh has been very natural, similar to the rivers that flow between the two countries.

He stressed that the interface, essentially between the two countries, has been economic trade. About his meeting with the officials of the LPAI, he said that during his two-hour meeting with the senior officials, he tried to ease out issues, adding that the meeting was result-oriented.

Noting that the relationship between the two countries is organic, natural, and people-centred, he expressed optimism about taking the relationship between the two countries to newer heights.

During his visit, the High Commissioner of Bangladesh will also take stock of the Agartala-Akhaura (Bangladesh) rail link project and will visit Nischintapur railway station near Agartala.

Besides, he would also be visiting the newly constructed “Maitri Setu” at Sabroom in South Tripura district on Sunday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his then-Bangladesh counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, inaugurated 'Maitri Setu' between India and Bangladesh in March 2021, but it could not be made operational due to the regime change in the neighbouring country.

On Sunday, the visiting envoy would also make a courtesy call with Tripura Governor Indra Sena Reddy Nallu.

A 1995 batch officer of the Bangladesh Foreign Service, Hamidullah, who was appointed the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India in April this year, before coming to Tripura, visited Assam and Meghalaya.