Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa departed for Bangladesh this morning (March 19) on an invitation extended by his Bangladeshi counterpart PM Sheikh Hasina.

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health has granted approval to undertake the state visit to Bangladesh as a BioSecure Travel Bubble adhering to strict COVID-19 preventive measures.

The two-day visit coincides with the celebration of the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Golden Jubilee of the Independence of Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Rajapaksa is expected to deliver a speech this evening at the event to mark the conclusion of the “Mujib Year,” declared to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Bangladesh’s independence.
  
During the visit, Prime Minister Rajapaksa will hold high-level bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, President of Bangladesh Mohammad Abdul Hamid, the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, and the Governor of the Bangladesh Bank.

The visit will also see the two countries sign a number of Memoranda of Understanding in various sectors such as agriculture, technical education, health, and cultural cooperation.

Among other engagements, Prime Minister Rajapaksa will visit the National Martyrs’ Memorial where he will lay a wreath to pay his respects to those who died in the Bangladesh War of Independence and plant a sapling. Later, the PM Rajapaksa will also visit the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.