Paschimbanga Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reached in Dhaka on a three-day visit on Thursday night.

Both Bangladesh and India expect her visit would strengthen ties between the two countries.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam and Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Pankaj Saran received Mamata at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport upon her arrival in an Air India flight, reports UNB.

Later, she was taken to Sonargaon Hotel in the city where she will be staying.

Before leaving Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Mamata said this is a very emotional moment for her as she is visiting Bangladesh to attend the ‘Bhasha Dibas’ event on February 21.

“This is a very emotional moment for me…some journeys are more emotional. This is very special,” she tweeted hours before her departure from India narrating beauty of Bangla through a lyric of a Bangla song.

Mamata mentioned that she last visited Bangladesh 17 years ago and this is her first visit after new the government came to power in Paschimbanga in May 2011.

“I’m looking forward to meeting (Prime Minister) Sheikh Hasina and the people of Bangladesh. India and Bangladesh share a special friendship and a special bond,” she said.

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj talked to Mamata over phone and conveyed greetings.

The visit raised hopes in Bangladesh that it will create a ‘supportive environment’ for settling pending issues with New Delhi apart from deepening soul-ties with Kolkata.

“We hope the visit will deepen Bangladesh’s soul-ties with the West Bengal. We also expect it’ll create supportive environment in settling unresolved issues between Dhaka and Delhi,” said State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam.

Country’s political observers consider her visit as ‘course-correction’ exercise as earlier in September 2011, Mamata had cancelled her visit to Dhaka with then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, as she had claimed that Teesta water sharing would not protect the interest of Pashcimbanga.

Referring to feedback got from the Indian side, the government said the ratification of the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) is a matter of time while the Indian central government is working to deliver its commitment regarding signing of Teesta Water sharing pact with Bangladesh.

RI