Bangladesh PM thanks PM Modi for evacuation of its nationals from Ukraine's Sumy

Bangladesh Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has thanked Indian Prime minister Narendra Modi for the evacuation of Bangladeshi nationals from Ukraine's besieged city of Sumy.

Earlier this month, in a​carefully planned operation India was able to evacuate over 500 of its students. Along with the Indian students convey several Bangladeshi nationals & one Pakistani national came out of the city.

In the letter on March 15, PM Hasina said, "I write to express my sincere thanks to you and your government for extending support and assistance in rescuing and evacuating some Bangladeshi nationals along with the Indians who were stranded in Sumy Oblast, Ukraine".

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22500 Indian nationals have left Ukraine and reached homeamid the deteriorating situation in the eastern European country. Russia invaded the country on February 24, following with India launched "Operation Ganga" to bring its citizens.

PM Hasina in her letter called the "wholehearted cooperation" during the Ukraine crisis by the Indian government has been a "testament to the unique and enduring relationship that our two countries have been enjoying over the years."

Sumy evacuation was the most challenging of all the operationsgiven it required humanitarian corridors and cooperation from both Russia and Ukraine.

Indian mission in Ukraine had dispatched a special team of senior officers to the vicinity of Sumy and with coordination of military forces deployed there and the Red Cross to ensure a safe evacuation. India was able to evacuate 147 foreign nationals from 18 countries in the evacuation operation.

In the letter, PM Hasina recalled PM Modi's visit to her country last yearfor the celebration of the birth centenary of Bangladesh's father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

She pointed out that bilateral ties have been "further consolidated through meaningful engagements at all levels over the past years" and she is "confident that both Bangladesh and India would continue to stand by each other in all the time and work together to realize the collective aspirations of the peoples of the two countries".