Assam CM Himanta Sarma plans to visit Bangladesh to strengthen ties

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recalling the contribution of Assam to the 1971 war of liberation fought jointly by Bangladesh's Mukti Bahini and Indian forces, said he will visit Bangladesh soon

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recalling the contribution of Assam to the 1971 war of liberation fought jointly by Bangladesh's Mukti Bahini and Indian forces, said he is likely to visit the neighbouring country soon to further strengthen the age-old relations between the two countries.

He was interacting with a 25-member delegation of 'Muktijoddhas' is on a three-day visit to Guwahati and Shillong.

The visit is part of #AzadiKaAmritMahotsav and Swarnim Vijay Varsh celebrations organised by High Commission of India in Bangladesh & Act East Policy Affairs, GoA," Sarma tweeted after meeting the delegation on Monday evening.

India is celebrating its 75 years of Independence as Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' while Swarnim Vijay Varsh' marks the 50th year of the victory of the allied forces against Pakistan in the 1971 war.

"The Bangladesh Liberation War was a landmark event where 9 valiant soldiers from Assam made the supreme sacrifice. Some Assam Police officers trained and equipped Mukti Bahini members," the chief minister said in a Twitter post.

The civil society of Assam also came forward to help the refugees who had come from East Bengal, he added.

The chief minister said that he has received an invitation from the Foreign minister of Bangladesh to visit the country.

I will make sincere efforts to honour the invitation to give a further push to civilisational ties between India and Bangladesh, Sarma tweeted.

Meanwhile, a delegation of 19 editors and senior journalists from various organisations in Bangladesh also arrived in Guwahati on Monday.

The team led by Chief News Editor, Independent TV of Bangladesh, Ashish Ghosh Saikat, will be meeting various organisations during their stay, an official release said.

This exercise is undertaken as part of the Familiarisation Programme organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, for Foreign Media, it said.