Dhaka, Mar 19 : Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived in Dhaka on Friday morning to attend the Mujib Eternal ceremony.

During his two-day visit to Dhaka, Rajapaksa will address the National Parade Square on Friday afternoon on the occasion of Bangabandhu’s birth anniversary and the golden jubilee of independence.

Rajapaksa will hold a formal meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office on Saturday. He will also meet President Abdul Hamid.

A ten-day special programme has started on March 16 to celebrate the birth anniversary of Bangabandhu and the golden jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence. It will continue till March 26. Guests from home and abroad will join the festival. The event will be celebrated from March 17 to 26 in compliance with health guidelines. The main theme of this 10-day program is ‘Mujib Chiranton’. However, different day events have different themes. The theme of the program on March 16 is ‘Bhengech Duaar Aesho Jyotirmoy’.

Maldives President Ibrahim Mohammed Salih arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday morning as the first world leader to take part in the event. He left Dhaka Airport for the country at 1am on Thursday.

Besides, the heads of state and government of Nepal, Bhutan and India will come to Dhaka according to separate schedules to attend the event. Nepal’s President Vidya Devi Bhandari will arrive in Dhaka on March 22 for a two-day visit. According to the schedule, Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotte Shering will visit Dhaka on March 24 and 25.

Indian Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi will arrive in Dhaka on March 26. He will return to the country on March 27.(UNI)