Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina on Friday felicitated BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on the resounding victory in Lok Sabha elections. (File picture)
Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina on Friday felicitated BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on the resounding victory in Lok Sabha elections, inviting him to visit the country as his first foreign destination.
Reaching out to Mr Modi in a warm letter, Ms Hasina said that with the kind of people's mandate given to their respective parties they can work together to take the bilateral relationship to "increasingly greater heights."
"I am delighted to see a great friend of Bangladesh leading an extremely friendly country, India, in the coming days," Ms Hasina said in her letter to Mr Modi, BJP's prime ministerial candidate.
"I hope that you would find my country your second home and first destination for your official visit abroad," she said.
Ms Hasina said "the decisive verdict given by the people of your great country is a strong testimony to your dynamic, inspiring and visionary leadership qualities and manifestation of the trust and confidence reposed in you by the people of the largest democracy in the world."
Describing Bangladesh and India as "natural and contiguous development partners," she said, "our shared history and culture...our inseparable bond of friendship was permanently cemented when the entire political leadership and the people of India provided unprecedented support to our historic War of Liberation in 1971."
Noting that the two countries have made significant collective strides in the bilateral relationship, she said it must continue to move forward.
"I firmly believe that with the mandate given to both of us by our respective peoples, we shall be able to work together to take our relationship to increasingly greater heights," Ms Hasina said.
"On this historic occasion and joyous moment of your victory, I wish you and the friendly people of India all the very best," she said adding that "I most warmly invite you, to visit Bangladesh at your earliest convenience."
In a separate letter to BJP President Rajnath Singh, Ms Hasina, chief of the Awami League, said "the magnitude of BJP's victory is clearly reflective of the charismatic leadership quality of yours and the Prime Ministerial Candidate of BJP Shri Narendra Modi, your top office bearers and election campaign strategists and managers, as well as the huge degree of trust and confidence that the people of India have chosen to repose in your Party and in your leadership."
She vowed to work with BJP and the elected government of India to bring about "meaningful, tangible and positive changes in our close and friendly relations". Ms Hasina also invited Mr Singh to visit Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief and former prime minister Khaleda Zia also congratulated Mr Modi who has led the BJP to a resounding victory in the polls.
"She (Zia) has sent a message of greetings (to Modi) through the Indian high commission in Dhaka," BNP vice chairman and party spokesman Shamser Mobin Chowdhury said.