National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon arrived here on Sunday to give final touches to preparations days for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Bangladesh.
During his two-day visit, Mr. Menon will hold discussions on issues connected to Dr. Singh's September 6-7 visit.
Mr. Menon will have a “courtesy meeting” with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He will hold meetings with Bangladesh Prime Minister's Economic Adviser Mashiur Rahman and International Affairs Adviser Gowher Rizvi, who are coordinating the visit.
Mr. Menon is expected to exchange views with select editors.
Dr. Singh will be accompanied by his wife Gursharan Kaur, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Meghalaya, Tripura, Assam and Mizoram counterparts Mukul Sangma, Manik Sarkar, Tarun Gogoi and Lal Thanhawla.
Mr. Menon will discuss the progress on the draft on the deals to be signed during Dr. Singh's visit. Last week, the two advisers of the Bangladesh Prime Minister visited India to discuss preparations for Dr. Singh's visit.
Dr. Rizvi said on Saturday that Dr. Singh's visit with five Chief Ministers for the first time would put an end to many long-standing issues. He said there was no need for a fresh deal on transit, as it was agreed to in the 1974 Indira-Mujib treaty. An expert in South Asian affairs, Dr. Rizvi explained that there was an arrangement for using transit facilities between among the then East Pakistan, India and the then West Pakistan from 1947 to 1965, which collapsed during the India-Pakistan war in 1965.
