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Bus diplomacy part-II

The India-Bangladesh relations are set to enter a new phase with the launching of the Calcutta-Dhaka bus service from Saturday to further consolidate people-to-people contact between the two countries.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will leave here on Saturday morning on a day-two visit to Dhaka to receive the inaugural bus jointly with his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina at the Osmani Memorial Hall.

Briefing reporters today, an External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said the prime minister would be accompanied by External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and senior officials. West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, who is reaching the Bangladesh capital tomorrow, will also be part of the prime minister's delegation.

Surface Transport Minister Nitish Kumar will be travelling to Dhaka in the inaugural bus. Also on board will be a group of eminent persons, including MPs, writers, historians and captains of industry.

The agreement to facilitate the Calcutta-Dhaka bus service was initialled by the two countries in February. Operators on both sides carried out the trial in early April. The agreement for launching the bus service is to be signed in Dhaka later today.

UNI

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