Maldives leader arrives in Dhaka for grand celebrations

By Md. Kamruzzaman

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih reached Bangladesh on Wednesday morning on a three-day tour.

He will join the inaugural session of a 10-day-long grand celebration in Dhaka commemorating the birth centenary of the country’s founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 50 years of independence.

Bangladesh’s President Abdul Hamid welcomed Solih, who was accompanied by a 26-member entourage including his wife Fazna Ahmed, at Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

Heads of state from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and India are also scheduled to attend the celebrations.

Leaders from China, Japan and Canada will virtually join the inaugural session Wednesday evening in the capital.

The South Asian nation had postponed the 100th birthday celebrations of its founding leader last year due to the looming pandemic.

This year, however, the golden jubilee of independence and 101st birthday of Rahman will be celebrated simultaneously.

The Maldivian president will deliver a speech as a guest of honor in Wednesday’s colorful inaugural session while Bangladesh’s President Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will also address the nation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will deliver recorded welcome speeches.

- Life and struggles

The events have been designed to feature the life and struggles of Rahman and his call for the liberation war in 1971.

Bangladesh won a nine-month-long war against Pakistan in December 1971. Formerly known as East Pakistan, it declared independence on March 26 of that year, and has since been marking the date as Independence Day.

On Thursday, Solih will hold a bilateral meeting with premier Hasina at her official residence in Dhaka. On the same day, he will attend a cultural show and dinner hosted by President Hamid at his official residence.

According to official records and available media reports, Maldives is the largest labor market for Bangladesh in South Asia and some 90,000 Bangladeshi immigrants are employed in the archipelago nation.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will arrive in Dhaka on Friday, Nepalese President Bidya Devi Bhandari on March 22, Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering on March 23, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 26.

- Inking deals

Earlier on Saturday, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told local media that dozens of agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) will be signed with a number of countries during the visits.

However, Momen did not say whether the long-disputed Teesta River water sharing agreement between Bangladesh and India will be signed during the Indian premier's visit. This is the first foreign tour of Modi since the pandemic.

During a recent tour to Dhaka, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said that his country’s stance on signing the Teesta River water sharing treaty was unchanged and officials of both states were working on it.

The signing of the treaty has been hanging in the balance for the last decade.