Bangladesh wants to discuss all bilateral issues with India with an open mind while India has also a broad-based agenda with Bangladesh, official sources said.

This will be the first ministerial-level visit from India since the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government assumed office in May, 2004.

In addition, there will be an exchange of views on international and regional issues of mutual interest, including the Saarc summit in Dhaka scheduled for November 12-13.

Other bilateral matters encompassing trade, investment, tourism and other business activities as well as cultural, educational and other matters of mutual interest will also be discussed.

On August 6, Singh will hold talks with Bangladesh Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan, which will be followed by the two foreign ministers' addressing a joint press briefing.

Singh is due to meet Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman and LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan also on that day.

On August 7, Natwar Singh will visit the Liberation War Museum, call on Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and Opposition Leader Sheikh Hasina.

He will also deliver a speech on Indo-Bangladesh relations at the BRAC Centre.

In the morning on August 8, the concluding day of his tour, he will visit Ramkrishna Mission in the city.

During Singh's visit, India will persuade Bangladesh to support the G4 resolution for expanding the UN Security Council, sources said.

The G4 nations comprising India, Japan, Brazil and Germany are seeking permanent seats in the council.

Natwar Singh will also try to resolve the difficulties in the $2.5 billion Myanmar-Bangladesh-India pipeline project during his visit.

Dhaka is ready to sign the tri-nation pipeline agreement if New Delhi agrees to provide a transit facility through India to facilitate transmission of hydro-electricity from Nepal and Bhutan to Bangladesh, a corridor for trade between the two Himalayan kingdoms, and take measures to reduce the $2 billion trade imbalance between Bangladesh and India.

But India termed those issues bilateral matters and said she thinks it unreasonable to set the issues as conditions for the "commercial" pipeline project where India is ready to pay an expected transit fee of $125 million.

During foreign office consultations held in New Delhi on June 21-22 Bangladesh and India agreed to activate bilateral mechanisms to enhance cooperation in areas like security, border management, sharing of river waters and economic ties.

The consultations were held after a gap of two years, when relations between the two countries had suffered over issues like trade gap, water sharing, India's plan for river-linking, killings in border and barbed-wire fencing, India's allegation of allowing rebels in its northeastern states to operate from Bangladesh and illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

"It is a goodwill visit by the external affairs minister of India. We will exchange ideas on all existing issues in addition to discussing potential areas of cooperation," Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan told reporters recently.

Dhaka is committed to strong bilateral relations with India, he said, adding that Bangladesh and India must remain closely engaged and work together in a fast-changing world.

Natwar Singh's visit to Dhaka aims at assuring the Bangladeshi government of New Delhi's sincerity about improving bilateral ties, a high official of Indian High Commission in Dhaka said.

Natwar Singh's visit will be followed by several ministerial visits from India, including those of Commerce Minister Kamal Nath and Water Resources Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, who will take part in a meeting of the Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) in Dhaka in October.