Hopeful of Starting Tourist Visa Soon: Doraiswami

Indian High Commissioner Vikram Kumar Doraiswami on Tuesday said they want to restart issuing tourist visas as soon as possible, noting that they are waiting to see the Covid-19 situation is normalized with vaccination in Bangladesh and India.

"...Hopefully soon. We would really want to start it,” he told reporters at the High Commission, adding that people will have more confidence with vaccination in Bangladesh and India.

The High Commissioner was talking to reporters after celebrating the Republic Day of India at the High Commission.

The 72nd Republic Day was celebrated at the High Commission of India, Dhaka with members of the Indian community and with social distancing norms in place.

High Commissioner Doraiswami read out the message of President of India Ram Nath Kovind.

He said they believe that India and Bangladesh must progress together and even during the Covid-19 situation, they wanted to work as closely as possible with their neighbors, particularly with Bangladesh.

This is why, Doraiswami said, Bangladesh is one of the first countries to receive vaccines from India, both as a gift and through commercial procurement.

He hoped that the roll-out of vaccination in Bangladesh would be as fast as possible as he quoted World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus saying no one can be immune alone from this disease.

In a first, a Bangladeshi tri-service contingent led India's Republic Day parade on the iconic Rajpath in the heart of the national capital on Tuesday.

The 122-member Bangladeshi armed forces contingent led the first 10 rows of India's 72nd Republic Day parade to commemorate 50 years of Bangladesh’s independence.

The tri-service contingent, led by Lt Col Mohatsim Haider Chaudhury, comprised of the Bangladesh Army in the first six rows, followed by two rows of the Navy and two rows of the Air Force in the end.