Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Hon’ble Minister of Information & Broadcasting held a meeting with the delegation of Bangladesh led by H.E. Dr. Hasan Mahmud, Hon’ble Minister of Information & Broadcasting of Bangladesh to discuss matters of mutual interest and further the strong ties between the two countries in areas of broadcasting and entertainment, strengthening people to people contact and exploring the potential of soft power interface between the two countries. H.E. Dr. Hasan Mahmud thanked Shri Anurag Singh Thakur for hosting him and his team to discuss the matters of mutual interest and cooperation. He appreciated the pro-active steps taken by the Indian Government and made special mention of the visit of Shri Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister to Bangladesh in March, 2021.
2. Shri Anurag Thakur expressed satisfaction over the production of the movie “Bangabandhu” on the life and times of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and mentioned “major part of the production has been completed and I expect the production be over by March, 2022, if the COVID situation so permits, so that the movie could be released internationally in March, 2022”.
3. It was also agreed to pro-actively pursue production of the documentary film on “Liberation of Bangladesh in 1971”. Discussions also took place on strengthening of ties between the two countries in the areas of digital entertainment and screening of films of each other’s country through mutual exchange.
4. The two Ministers also discussed the celebration of “Maitri Diwas” on 6th December, 2021 for which a mutually accepted Action Plan would be detailed and carried out. Shri Thakur thanked the Government of Bangladesh for its active participation in 51st IFFI held in January, 2021 and invited renewed participation in 52nd IFFI to be held in Goa in November, 2021. Both the Ministers lent support to cooperation between the two countries for further strengthening of cultural and people to people ties.
Saurabh Singh