Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the chief guest at the inaugurating event to kick-start the year-long celebrations for Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rehman’s birth centenary in Dhaka on March 17, reports Hindustan Times.

Modi is expected to reach Dhaka the day before the function, and will be the main speaker for Mujib Year, added the report citing sources with close ties to Modi.

Modi’s visit comes at a time when relations appeared frayed over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, new legislation that eases the path to naturalisation for religious minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India before 2015.

Three Bangladeshi ministers called off trips to India citing different reasons since the CAA was passed by the Indian Parliament on Dec 11, 2019, added the report.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that while CAA was “not necessary” it was India’s “internal matter”, reports the Indian daily.

During her decade long tenure, India with the Bangladesh government are taking strong action against pan-Islamic terrorists and radical groups such as the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh.

Both the countries closely cooperate on the border with annual interactions and regular information exchanges between the Border Security Force (BSF) and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR).