New Delhi: Bangladesh and India have decided to mark the year 2018 as the Year of India in Bangladesh, and 2019 as the Year of Bangladesh in India, and laid emphasis on building bridges to optimise people-to-people contact.

This was decided during a bilateral meeting held between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Saturday at Hyderabad House.

They welcomed the growing people-to-people contact and agreed to further increase exchanges between the two peoples.

Two leaders also decided to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 2021 and the 75th anniversary of India's independence from British rule in 2022.

The two prime ministers expressed satisfaction with the ongoing cultural exchanges and the implementation of the Cultural Exchange Programme (2015-17) between the two countries.

They voiced satisfaction at the signing of an MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Mass Media and Agreement on Audio-Visual Co-production between the two countries.

The two prime ministers appreciated the efforts made by both sides in strengthening their diplomatic and consular presence in each other's country to further boost people-to-people contact.

They welcomed the upgradation of the Bangladesh Visa Office in Agartala to an Assistant High Commission and establishment of an Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh in Guwahati and the decision to set up Assistant High Commissions of India in Khulna and Sylhet in 2017.

Prime Minister Hasina welcomed the opening of more Indian Visa Application Centres (IVACs) in Bangladesh as well as various initiatives taken by India to streamline its visa procedures and infrastructure so as to render them more user-friendly for Bangladesh nationals.

Both the prime ministers welcomed the opening of the Phulbari- Banglabandha Immigration Check Post in February 2016 as a significant step towards increasing people-to-people contact and facilitating movement of goods not only between the two countries but the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) sub-region.

In recognition of special connection between Bangladesh Muktijoddhas and India, the Indian side announced 5-year multiple entry visas facility to all Muktijhodhas based on provision of supporting documents.

The Indian side responded to a humanitarian need expressed by Bangladesh by allowing medical visa facilities for diagnosis in India subject to supporting documentation being produced.

The two prime ministers expressed a firm commitment to set an example of good neighbourliness in the region.

They emphasised that they must continue to progress together. Both leaders thus agreed to promote shared interests of the two peoples so as to live together harmoniously and in a mutually beneficial inter-dependent environment.