For the first time in 15 unusual months in his term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to travel overseas as he would be visiting Bangladesh on March 26 to join the celebrations in the neighboring country to mark the 50th anniversary of its freedom. 

It is expected that the Prime Minister will get aboard 'Air India One' and make his debut flight on a highly sophisticated aircraft that was exclusively brought to transport India's President, Vice-President, and Prime Minister on their overseas trips. According to reports, the Prime Minister will be taking part as the Chief Guest in the event that was organized by his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina. 

The Bangladeshi government will be commemorating Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declaring East Pakistan as an independent country, Bangladesh, on March 26, 1971. It must be noted that India supported the partition and helped Bangladesh defeat Pakistan's forces and the Indian forces played a pivotal role in the birth of Bangladesh, fifty years ago. 

Bangladesh has planned to celebrate the event big and the neighboring country had invited Narendra Modi to be the Chief Guest for the event. The reports say that India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was in Dhaka last week to prepare for PM Modi's visit and he said that the deepening strategic ties between the two countries as a 360-degree partnership and he asserted that  Modi's visit will become memorable for the neighboring country. 

Modi will be airlifting to Bangladesh on March 26 for a two-day trip and his visit will become his first foreign tour in 15 months. The Prime Minister had lastly traveled abroad in November 2019 and he hasn't left India during the entire year of 2020 owing to the Coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown. Earlier, Modi had described Bangladesh as the important pillar of India's neighborhood first policy. 

According to reports, PM Modi will visit Bangladesh at a high time when the Indian government has earned goodwill from the neighboring country after supplying the COVID-19 vaccines. Under the tag of 'Vaccine Maitri', the Indian government has been dispatching its indigenous COVID-19 vaccines for the neighboring countries. India has supplied 9 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to Bangladesh including 2 million doses as a gift from the Indian people. 

The remaining seven million doses were dispatched on a commercial basis after Bangladesh had decided to procure the vaccines developed by India than making a deal for the vaccine with China. Weeks ahead of his visit, Narendra Modi has on Tuesday (March 9, 2021) had inaugurated the 'Maitri Setu' bridge between India and Bangladesh. The inauguration event had held virtually and was attended by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. 

Modi inaugurated the bridge that was built over the Feni river, which flows between the Indian boundary in Tripura and Bangladesh. Hasina called the event as a historic moment and said that the opening of any bridge is testimony to Bangladesh's continued commitment to support India in strengthening connectivity in the region. "Political boundaries should not become physical barriers for trade. The bridge over Feni river will also help Bangladesh's trade with Nepal and Bhutan", Hasina added.