Bangladesh an attractive place for investment

Visiting former Indian president Pranab Mukherjee yesterday said Bangladesh is an attractive place for investment.

He said this during a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Gono Bhaban.

After the meeting, Prime Minister's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters.

Pranab said he had been involved in politics for a long time and worked as a member of the Indian Lokshobha alongside holding the constitutional post.

He said he was now passing time reading books after retiring as president.

He recalled that his first foreign tour as the Indian president was the tour of Bangladesh in March 2013.

On his arrival at the Gono Bhaban, Hasina received the former Indian president. Pranab's daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee also accompanied him.

Welcoming the veteran Indian leader, Hasina elaborated on the overall economic scenario of Bangladesh. She said the poverty level came down to 22 percent due to various pragmatic steps of her government.

She, however, said the economy incurred losses to some extent last year due to the floods in different parts of the country.

About the Rohingya issue, the PM said over one million Myanmar nationals, who fled to Bangladesh from Rakhine following a crackdown by government forces, have been given shelter in Cox's Bazar on humanitarian grounds.

PM's Principal Secretary Nojibur Rahman and Senior Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office Suraiya Begum were present.

Hasina later hosted a luncheon in honour of the former Indian president.

Pranab arrived in Dhaka on Sunday on a four-day private visit to Bangladesh.