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Manmohan Singh in Dhaka for SAARC summit
by Ashok Dixit

     Dhaka: Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh arrived in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka at 6.15 p.m. (local time), a day ahead of the two-day twice postponed 13th SAARC summit. Dr. Singh was received at the Zia International Airport by Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia and several ministers of the Bangladesh Cabinet, including Foreign Minister Morshed Khan after a two-hour-15-minute journey from New Delhi. The Indian Prime Minister was given a 19-gun salute as he descended from Air India One. He was escorted to the saluting base by his Bangladeshi counterpart, which had both the national flags of Bangladesh and India. A ceremonial guard of honour by the three defence services was presented, and was followed by Prime Minister Singh reviewing it. The visiting dignitaries then had to walk about 600 yards to the car convoy.

    The airport was completely sanitised with at least three tiers of security surrounding the aircraft and its immediate periphery and the Bangladesh Rapid Action Force (RAF) on the outer periphery. Visual camera crew had a harrowing time photographing the arrival of the Indian Prime Minister and his delegation, as the highly nervous Bangladeshi security kept most of the Indian media at some distance from the aircraft. The media could only leave the airport after the VVIP entourage left the vicinity. MEA officials and the media were made to wait outside the VIP lounge for almost 15 minutes before being let in, a clear sign of the fear psychosis prevailing in the Bangladesh capital ahead of the summit as far as security considerations were concerned. The one kilometre-long drive down to the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel was pleasant, especially the drive down VIP Road in the Dhaka Cantonment Area, which was illuminated on both sides by what appeared to be imported inexpensive Chinese lights, a small though significant sign of the positive Sino-Bangla ties. Security along the route from the airport to the hotel was visible, but not as starkly as when the 12th SAARC Summit took place in the first week of January 2004. The Prime Minister is scheduled to meet his Bhutanese counterpart H.E.Lyonpo Sangay Ngedup between 8 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. tonight Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran will brief the media a little after 9 p.m. on the deliberations of the two-day SAARC Council of Ministers meeting that concluded on Friday, and the agenda for Saturday.