President Pranab Mukherjee Friday said India attached "highest importance" to bilateral relations with Bangladesh, an official statement by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.Receiving his Bangladesh counterpart Abdul Hamid in the Rashtrapati Bhavan here, Mukherjee welcomed him and complimented him for his role in the consolidation of bilateral relations."India attaches the highest importance to bilateral relations with Bangladesh, a close friend and neighbour. India has always believed that a strong, stable and prosperous Bangladesh is in its interest," Mukherjee said.
"It is greatly satisfying for India to see that Bangladesh, today, represents a high growth economy with a promising future - the impressive strides made on human development, healthcare, education, women's empowerment and other socio-economic fronts."Reciprocating the sentiments, Hamid praised Mukherjee for having been a "friend of Bangladesh for long" and said the people of Bangladesh held the Indian president in the highest of regard.Mukherjee handed over recordings of transmissions made by All India Radio and Doordarshan during the Liberation War of 1971 to Hamid.