Mango diplomacy between Bangladesh and India

Dhaka: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has sent 2,600 kgs of mangoes as gifts to PM Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bangladesh media reported. The Haribhanga variety of mango is grown in Bangladesh's Rangpur district. The mangoes were transported through the land border via the Benapole checkpoint. The gift from Hasina comes at a time when there is growing disquiet on the Bangladeshi side over the halting of vaccine exports from India since late March. Sheikh Hasina has also sent 300 kilograms of Haribhanga mangoes as a gift to Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb. "The Assistant High Commissioner handed over 300 KGs of Haribhanga mangoes sent from the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for the Chief Minister of Tripura to the latter at his office this afternoon. CM cordially thanked the Prime Minister for the gift," Bangladesh Assistant High Commissioner in Agartala, Tripura wrote in a tweet. It is also believed that PM Hasina has sent mangoes for President Ram Nath Kovind also. In March this year, Dhaka was the destination for Modi’s first and only foreign visit since the Covid-19 outbreak. Mango diplomacy is part of the politics of the subcontinent but has been more common between India and Pakistan.(Courtesy Mint)