The bond of friendship between the people of Bangladesh and India is written in blood, said Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud.
“Bangladesh will never forget India's historic contribution to the great war of liberation and freedom struggle and it is written in golden letters on the pages of history,” he said.
He further said that the relations between the two countries are now at a unique height under the leadership of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina and the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.
He made the remarks while speaking at the inauguration function of the three-day second Bangladesh Film Festival in Tripura on Wednesday morning.
Tripura Chief Minister Biplob Kumar Dey was the chief guest at the inauguration of the festival organized by the Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh in Agartala on the initiative of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Minister of Information and Cultural Affairs Department Govt of Tripura Sushant Chowdhury, Momtaz Begum MP of Bangladesh, Saimum Sarwar Kamal MP, Information and Broadcasting Secretary Md Maqbool Hossain, Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India Nural Islam and Assistant High Commissioner of Bangladesh Arif Mohammad at Agartala also spoke at the event.
Inaugurating the festival, the Hasan Mahmud said that one crore people of Bangladesh had taken refuge in India during the war of liberation and after the execution order of Bangabandhu.
“The then Indian government had carried out diplomatic activities in different countries. We will never forget this contribution of India,” he said.
He expressed his deep gratitude to the people of Tripura and the then state government, saying that the people of Tripura had opened both their state and the door of their minds during the liberation war in 1971 and sheltered millions of refugees from Bangladesh.
Tripura Chief Minister Biplob Kumar Dey said, “The people of Bangladesh are moving forward confidently in the world today because of the leadership of Bangabandhu daughter Sheikh Hasina. Under the leadership of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the enemies of the two countries will never succeed. I was born in 1971, the year of Bangladesh's independence. That is why my birth has a historical connection with the birth of Bangladesh and my first foreign visit as Chief Minister will be in Bangladesh.”
After the discussion, the documentary “Hasina: A Daughter's Tale” based on the life of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh was screened and artists from Bangladesh performed cultural programs.
Earlier in the morning. In a meeting with him at the Tripura Chief Minister's Office, Hasan Mahmood discussed ways to further enhance bilateral communication and cultural and trade ties. He lauded the various initiatives taken by the Chief Minister of Tripura for the development of the state of Tripura and for further strengthening the friendly relations between Bangladesh and India.
