Haribhanga mangoes, ripened in the Rangpur sun, set off from Bangladesh for Tripura. As the scent of 300 kg of sweet mangoes crossed the border, Tripura sent back its juicy Queen variety pineapples. The exchange of fruit at the border was a sweet story of diplomatic goodwill between the two countries.

The Indian Assistant High Commission in Sylhet reported the mango-pineapple exchange in a Facebook post, citing All India Radio.

The post said Dr Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of Bangladesh's interim government, had sent 300 kg of Rangpur's famous Haribhanga mangoes as a gift to the Tripura state government and dignitaries. In response, the Tripura government sent its famous, juicy Queen variety pineapples to Bangladesh as a goodwill gift. No details were given of the quantity of pineapples.

Earlier, at 5:15pm on Thursday, the mangoes reached Tripura, a state in north-eastern India, in 60 cartons through the Akhaura land port. Under the supervision of the foreign ministry, they were handed over through Cargo World Logistics to the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala.

Given their state importance, all fees and duties were waived and the mangoes were cleared quickly, Md Jahangir Alam, revenue officer at Akhaura land customs station, confirmed. Besides Tripura, Haribhanga mangoes were also sent as a gift to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Bangladesh shares a border of about 856 km with the Indian state of Tripura.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.