Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee ended a day-long official visit to Bangladesh Monday with both neighbours pledging to strengthen bilateral ties, diplomatic sources said, according to DPA. Mukherjee's main mission in Dhaka was to hand over to Bangladeshi government leaders letters of invitation to New Delhi for the upcoming summit of South Asian countries. Sources said Mukherjee discussed however relations between India and Bangladesh during meetings with Bangladesh President Iajuddin Ahmed and the head of the country's current caretaker government Fakhruddin Ahmed. India is hosting the summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) on April 3-4, the 14th such meeting of the SAARC countries since the regional forum was launched in 1985. The SAARC started with Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan and Myanmar are likely to join the summit as the newly admitted members of the extended SAARC family.
