Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said India and Bangladesh have given a new dimension and direction to their partnership due to growing trust between the two nations.  India and Bangladesh “have a golden chapter of bilateral ties,” he said. 

In his video message to mark the birth centenary celebrations of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Modi said the two countries have been able to amicably resolve complex issues such as land and maritime boundaries.

Lauding Bangladesh’s rapid economic growth, Modi said: “We are all witnessing that how, making terror and violence weapons of politics and diplomacy destroys a society and a nation. The world is also watching where the supporters of terror and violence are currently placed and in what state they are, while Bangladesh is scaling new heights.”

  Modi said be it economy, other social indices or sports, Bangladesh was setting new benchmarks. It has made unprecedented progress in many fields like skill, education, health, women empowerment, microfinance, Modi said as he praised the country's eastern neighbour and sought to soothe irritants that had cropped up over India's controversial citizenship law and his government's perceived anti-Muslim policies.  Protests had been held by anti-India elements at many places in Bangladesh over the Delhi riots and calls were made to revoke the invitation to the Indian prime minister. 

Modi was scheduled to visit Dhaka for a day, but the visit had to be cancelled as the Bangladesh government postponed mega-events in the wake of COVID-19, a development that seemed to saved both countries a lot of blushes. 

Modi said Bangladesh was not only India's biggest trading partner in South Asia but also an ally in the development process. He said electricity generated in India is lighting up lakhs of houses and factories in Bangladesh.

Modi said be it road, rail, air, waterway or internet, "our cooperation in several sectors is connecting people of the two countries even more".

The two nations shared heritage comes from intellectuals like Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Ustad Alauddin Khan, Lalon Shah, Jibanananda Das and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.

The Indian prime minister also referred to Mujibur’s brutal assassination on 15 August 1975, which was carried out by pro-Pakistan group Jamaat-e-Islami.

Mujib, he said, had devoted every moment of his life towards bringing Bangladesh out of the phase of devastation and genocide and making it into a positive and progressive society. He was absolutely clear that hatred and negativity can never be the foundation of any country’s development.

“However, these very ideas and efforts were not liked by certain people and they snatched him from us,” Modi said.

“Bangladesh is moving ahead, inspired by Bangabandhu, and under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina with inclusive and development-oriented policies.”