Sangma wants Hasina to visit Meghalaya

Former speaker of Indian parliament Purno A Sangma said he would arrange a tour for Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the north-eastern state of Meghalaya during her official visit to India next month.

Sangma, a senior leader of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), believes that her visit to the north-eastern state would help boost trade between the two countries.

"I am having discussions with External Affairs Ministry about Hasina's visit to India next month and trying to fix a tour to Shillong and Tura on her itinerary," he told reporters in Shillong on Thursday.

NCP is a constituent of the Congress party-led government and Sangma's daughter Agatha is a federal minister.

Sangma said there is scope for both West Bengal and the north-eastern region to trade with Bangladesh and that is why her visit is "very important".

Such a high-profile visit would give a major boost to trade-ties between Bangladesh and the north-eastern region of India, Sangma mentioned.

He also referred to issues like the proposed Shillong-Sylhet bus service and the transit route of vehicles from north-eastern India through Bangladesh that would be discussed with Hasina.