The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: Bangladesh will not be attending the 150th-anniversary celebrations of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) due to government restrictions on non-essential foreign travel.
Mominul Islam, acting director of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), confirmed that Bangladesh received an invitation from the IMD a month ago but cited limitations on government-funded travel as the reason for not attending.
“The India Meteorological Department invited us to their 150th anniversary celebrations. We maintain good relations and continue to collaborate with them,” Islam was quoted as saying by bdnews 24 on Friday (January 10).
“However, we are not going to the event as there is an obligation to limit non-essential foreign trips funded by the government,” he added.
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Islam, however, emphasised the strong relations and ongoing collaboration between the BMD and IMD. He even mentioned his recent visit to India on December 20, 2024, for a separate meeting with Indian meteorologists, as per the bdnews 24 report.
The IMD has invited several neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, to join in the celebrations.
“We have asked all the countries that were part of India when IMD was launched (150 years ago) to join this festival,” an IMD official told PTI, adding, “Pakistan has already agreed to join the event, but there has been no response from Bangladesh.”
The IMD was established in 1875 during British colonial rule, following devastating weather events in India. Initially headquartered in Kolkata, the department has relocated several times, finally settling in Delhi in 1944. The IMD will officially mark its 150th anniversary on January 15, 2025.