Bangladesh is the only country that President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited this year, which otherwise was marked with several travel restrictions the world over due to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla was also in Dhaka earlier this month. Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry in a news release quoted its foreign minister AK Abdul Momen as telling Shringla that India is Bangladesh’s best friend.

While Modi and Jaishankar were in Dhaka in March, Kovind reached the Bangladesh capital today.

At a briefing, Shringla too described Bangladesh as the central pillar of India's Neighbourhood First policy.

“It is also the relationship where this policy intersects the element of our Act East policy,” Shringla said adding that India is Bangladesh's most important economic partner.

Also read: President Kovind reaches Dhaka to join December 16 victory celebrations

“We cannot expect that India will prosper with Bangladesh in poverty or vice versa.. The future of India and Bangladesh are tied and intertwined with each other,” Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury, who served as air commodore in Bangladesh’s Air Force said in an exclusive interview to India Narrative.

This year, the two countries also jointly celebrated December 6, marked as Maitri Diwas. Not just New Delhi and Dhaka, the day was observed at several other capitals across the world.

Analysts from both India and Bangladesh told India Narrative that the future lies in enhancing connectivity, people to people and trade relations.

“The key to having strengthening bilateral relations lies in further enhancement of economic activities and trade relations,” one of them said.