Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sent 2,600 kg of mangoes to her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday, Bangladeshi officials said.
Mangoes from the Haribhanga variety, which are farmed in the Rangpur region, were transported across the land border via the Benapole checkpoint. Anupam Chakma, deputy commissioner of the Benapole customs house, told Bangladeshi media that the mangoes are a symbol of the two countries’ goodwill.
The mangoes were accepted by Mohammed Samiul Quader, the first secretary at Bangladesh’s deputy high commission in Kolkata, and would be sent to the prime minister in New Delhi and the chief minister.
On Sunday afternoon, the Bangladeshi truck carrying 260 boxes of mangoes crossed the border after clearing customs and port requirements. At the border, several prominent Bangladeshi officials were present, including Ashraful Alam Liton, the mayor of Benapole municipality.
According to reports in Bangladeshi media, Hasina plans to send mangoes to the chief ministers of the northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura, which all share Bangladeshi borders.
On the occasion of Durga Puja last year, Bangladesh granted its traders special authorization to export approximately 1,500 tonnes of Hilsa fish to India, a popular dish on both sides of the border.
Mango diplomacy is an aspect of subcontinental politics, however it is more common between India and Pakistan. Former dictators Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf, as well as former interior minister Rehman Malik, were among the Pakistani dignitaries who presented the Indian government with mangoes.
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