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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, Madam Prime Minister, esteemed guests and friends,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Moscow and to host this meeting at the Kremlin.

Our two countries enjoy an excellent long-term relationship, and your father played a key role in building the Bangladeshi-Russian relations.

I would like to note that recently the foundation of our relations, namely the economy and economic ties, has been developing rapidly, with 60% growth in 2011 and over 20% in 2012. These are very good indicators.

Ties between our countries have been developing vigorously in other areas as well, including in humanitarian sphere, science and technology.

Our colleagues have prepared a package of various agreements and contracts for your visit, which will become a solid step forward in relations between our two countries.

We are very happy to see you. Welcome!

Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina: Honourable President, first of all, I thank you very much for receiving me and my delegation in Russia. After forty years, this is the second Head of Government visit to Russia. So, thank you for inviting me and my delegation. We are really very happy to be here.

The friendship and cooperation between our two countries is historical. We always remember the historical events during our liberation war. Your country, the then Soviet Russia, supported the people of Bangladesh not only in Bangladesh but even in the international arena, everywhere, we received your support, and that really helped our people to achieve their independence. We also received your support in rebuilding our war-devastated country.

Your people sacrificed their lives during the development of our country, when we started rebuilding our country after the war. Everything was shattered. Especially our Chittagong port, when we started the mining near Chittagong port, your people sacrificed their lives. We will always remember those days. So, we always consider your country as our great friend, a friendly country.

On my last visit you invited me to join this Tiger Summit in St Petersburg, so we visited. I think the documents we are going to sign will enhance our cooperation and friendship between our two countries and two peoples. It will help Bangladesh to progress economically.

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