Just after Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarks on his first foreign visit to Bhutan this month, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is likely to go to Bangladesh.
This will be Ms. Swaraj’s first stand-alone bilateral visit to a close South Asian neighbour since the BJP-led NDA government came to power on May 26.
Indications are that she will visit Dhaka by the end of June, understandably to demonstrate the mood of the new government that the immediate neighbourhood is its priority.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmood Ali had written to Ms. Swaraj soon after she was sworn in, felicitating her and inviting her to visit the country.
However, the foreign office in Dhaka has refrained from commenting on the visit.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had requested Mr. Modi to consider Dhaka for his first foreign visit as Prime Minister.
