Hasina-Modi talks today

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi will hold their talks at the Indian Prime Minister's official residence and principal workplace 7, Race Course Road, New Delhi at 5:30pm today.

The two leaders will meet for one and a half hour, however, the last 30 minutes of the meeting will be a tete-a-tete between them, officials said.

The meeting over, they will meet with the US President Joe Biden, later they will attend official dinner.

"Hasina-Modi meeting has created serious hype in Dhaka and New Delhi as Modi is scheduled to sit with Sheikh Hasina first and later with the US President Biden, analysts said Modi might share some points with Biden to narrow the gap between Sheikh Hasina and Joe Biden," sources said preferring anonymity.

Following the meeting with the Indian Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to return to Grand Hotel where she is staying during her two-day tour in India to welcome Sonia Gandhi, the former President of Congress.

Bangladesh and India would sign three memorandums of understanding (MoU) during the meeting between the two Prime Ministers.

"After the meeting, three agreements related to agriculture research, culture, and rupee-taka payment system for trade would he signed," Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said on Thursday while briefing reporters about the Prime Minister's India visit at Foreign Service Academy.

The Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (NPCI) would sign the agreement for agri-research and training. Moreover, the existing cultural exchange programme would be extended to 2025 from 2023.

"The Bangladesh Bank would sign the agreement with the National Payments Corporation of India for rupee-taka trade system," Momen said.

The Prime Minister will leave Dhaka for New Delhi on Friday afternoon on a special Biman flight.

"It is a proud moment for us. We are honoured... We got a floor to speak," the Foreign Minister said as Bangladesh is the only country in South Asia invited as a guest at the summit.

On the sidelines, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will hold meetings with the Saudi crown prince as well as presidents of Argentina, South Korea and the UAE on Saturday, he said.

She will also pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi with leaders of the G20.

At the conference, Sheikh Hasina will speak in two sessions on the theme of the summit - one earth, one family, one future.

Momen said the Prime Minister will highlight climate change, post-pandemic economic recovery and challenges that emerged due to the Russia-Ukraine war, particularly in the food and energy sectors, among others.

"Regional peace and stability is imperative for us and India also. We do not want to see any proxy war in this region," Momen added.