Dhaka: Vice-President Hamid Ansari arrived
here on Thursday to represent India in the joint celebrations to
mark the 150th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate
Rabindranath Tagore, an event which will be marked by a series
of cultural events in Bangladesh.
Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur
and two Members of Parliament - O P Mathur of BJP and Moinul
Hassan of CPI (M)- are accompanying the Vice-President.
The Vice-President was received at the Shahjalal
International Airport by Foreign Minister Dipu Moni.
During the state visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina in January last year, the two sides had agreed
to oversee the joint celebrations together.
Ansari's visit is the first visit to Bangladesh by a
senior Indian leader after Hasina visited India last year.
The celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of
Tagore will begin at the Bangabandhu International Convention
Centre tomorrow where various troupes will present a series of
cultural programmes, including short dramas and music shows.
Today, Ansari will call on Bangladesh President Md
Zillur Rahman and hold meetings with Prime Minister Hasina and
Foreign Minister Moni.
Leader of the Opposition Khalida Zia will also call on
the Vice-President.
Ansari will also visit the the National Mausoleum at
Savar and the Bangabandhu Museum today. The Bangabandhu Museum
is the house of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
It contains rare collection of personal effects and
photographs of his lifetime.
Bangladesh Planning Minister A K Khandker will attend
the inauguration of the Nobel Laureate's 150th birth
anniversary in India on Sunday.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, May 05, 2011, 13:20