We will broaden and strengthen ties with Bangladesh: Modi

Sheikh Hasina celebrates Friendship Day in Bangladesh

Prime Minister's Congratulatory Message to Sheikh Hasina on the occasion of Friendship Day being celebrated by India

New Delhi: On the occasion of India and Bangladesh jointly celebrating Friendship Day on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was confident of further broadening and strengthening India's bilateral ties with Bangladesh.

The two countries celebrated Friendship Day on Monday to commemorate the liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistan's slavery in 1971 with the help of India and its recognition by India for the first time in the world.

Emphasizing that relations between India and Bangladesh are not limited to treaties and agreements, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said on the day of friendship that relations between the two nations have become very strong in the last 50 years and today it has become holistic and strategic.

Today, India and Bangladesh are celebrating Friendship Day. "We are jointly celebrating our 50 years of friendship," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted on his Twitter account.

"I look forward to working with Sheikh Hasina to further deepen and deepen our bilateral ties," he said. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted on his Twitter handle that "we are remembering and celebrating today the first time we recognized Bangladesh as an independent and sovereign nation 50 years ago."

India became the first country in the world to establish bilateral relations with Bangladesh on December 6, 1971, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson added. The soldiers of both the countries were jointly martyred in the liberation struggle of Bangladesh and the journey which started 50 years ago today has written a golden chapter in the bilateral relations between the two countries, Bagchi added in his tweet.