Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will have a luncheon meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday following the inauguration of Bangladesh Bhavana at the Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan.
Her younger sister Sheikh Rehana will also be with her, sources on both sides confirmed to The Hindu . Before the programme around mid-day, the two Prime Ministers will attend the annual convocation of the Visva-Bharati University.
Clearing the confusion on whether Ms. Hasina can have lunch during Ramzan, as she is fasting, an Indian government official said that the Bangladesh Prime Minister “does not observe fast while travelling.”
Convocation
On Friday, the Prime Ministers will also visit Rabindra Bhavana, the museum that houses Rabindranath’s original manuscripts, paintings, letters and sketches. PM Modi, the Chancellor of the University founded by Rabindranath Tagore in 1921, will attend the convocation for the first time after being appointed Chancellor in 2015.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Hasina is “likely” to meet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata after her visit to Kazi Nazrul University (KNU) in Paschim Bardhaman in a Special Convocation programme presided over by Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, Chancellor of KNU. She will be conferred with Degree of Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa) by the University.
Bangladesh’s Minister of Cultural Affairs Asaduzzaman Noor said in Santiniketan that the sharing of water of the Teesta river will be discussed in the meetings.