Bangladesh to roll out red carpet to welcome Indian President Kovind

Bangladesh will roll out the red carpet to welcome Indian President Ram Nath Kovind who is set to arrive Dhaka in his maiden tour today on a 3-day visit to join the golden jubilee celebration of independence. President Md Abdul Hamid along with his wife will receive his Indian counterpart at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport where a special Indian Airlines plane is expected to land at 10 am (BST), carrying Kovind and his entourage members.

Ram Nath Kovind will visit Dhaka along with Indian first lady and their daughter, India's education minister and two parliament members alongside several senior officials, according to the schedule and officials concerned. Personnel drawn from Bangladesh army, navy and air force will offer him a guard of honour as part of the welcome ceremony at the airport from where he would be escorted to the National Martyrs' Memorial at Savar on the outskirts of the capital in a motorcade. The Indian president will place wreaths in memory of Bangladesh's nine-month-long 1971 Liberation War martyrs at the National Martyrs' Memorial in Savar, plant a sapling and sign the visitors' book there.

Later, he will visit Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum in capital's Dhanmondi area to pay homage to Bangladesh's founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman while Bangladesh simultaneously celebrates his birth centenary and the golden jubilee of independence. On the same afternoon, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would pay a courtesy call on the Indian President at his suit in Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel.

President Md Abdul Hamid will host a banquet in his honour to be joined by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Bangabhaban in the evening after talks with his counterpart. "The Indian president will present his counterpart two replicas -- Russian made T-55 tanks and Mig-21 vintage aircraft used during the 1971 war as gifts," said an official familiar with the visit. The Indian President will enjoy a cultural even at the Bangabhaban. On the second day of the visit, the Indian President will join as the "Guest of Honor" at the National Parade Ground on December 16 to mark the golden jubilee of the Victory Day of Bangladesh.

In the afternoon, Ram Nath Kovind will take part in a function titled "Great Victory Heroes" in the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban to pay respect to Bangladesh's Father of the Nation and to celebrate the joy of victory. President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Jatiya Sangsad Speaker and other dignitaries will attend the event. On the third day on December 17, the Indian President is expected to inaugurate and inspect the newly renovated section of Kali Temple. He will leave Dhaka for New Delhi in the afternoon.