By Sumi Khan

Dhaka, Nov 15 (IANS): President Ram Nath Kovind will attend the 'Victory Day' celebrations in Bangladesh on December 16 apart from his other key engagements.

President Kovind will be visiting Bangladesh at the invitation of his Bangladesh counterpart Abdul Hamid.

Foreign Minister Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen confirmed the Indian President's visit to Bangladesh.

This will be the first visit by the 14th president of India to Bangladesh. He was sworn in on July 25, 2017.

Bangladesh is celebrating the Golden Jubilee of its Independence and the birth centenary of Father of the Nation 'Bangabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The two countries also decided to commemorate December 6 as Maitri Diwas (Friendship Day), the day when India recognised Bangladesh in 1971.

Bangladesh and India are working together eyeing two mega-events next month - Maitri Diwas and Victory Day of Bangladesh - on December 6 and December 16 respectively with the exchange of high-level visits, officials said.

On March 26 to 27, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a state visit to Bangladesh to join the celebrations of the Golden Jubilee of the Independence of Bangladesh, the birth centenary of Rahman, and 50 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is also expecting high-level participation from Bhutan. The visit symbolises the partnership of half a century between Bangladesh and India that has strengthened, matured, and evolved as a 'model for bilateral relations' for the entire region, both sides recognised.