Dhaka, Dec 17 : Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Pranay Verma on Sunday said that the 1971 Liberation War remains the bedrock for ties between Bangladesh and India which epitomises closeness shared by the two nations. 'It is time for us to cherish our friendship and reiterate the commitment to preserve and promote the spirit of 1971 which remains the bedrock of our ties,' the High Commissioner said while speaking at the opening ceremony of the Biman Bangladesh Airlines inaugural flight from Dhaka to Chennai at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. He said that shared sacrifices for Bangladesh's freedom stand testimony to the time-tested friendship between Delhi and Dhaka. He said that India stands ready to walk together with Bangladesh in realising its vision of a stable, progressive and prosperous nation. 'As nations whose destinies are as connected as our geographies and historical roots, we are today at the cusp of realising the promise of a 'Sonali Adhyay' (golden chapter) in our ties,' the Ambassador said. He said that the level and scope of partnership and the engagement between Bangladesh and India has grown at a rapid pace in recent years and connectivity has been one of the major manifestations of this transformation in the relationship. 'In terms of air connectivity alone there are more than 120 flights linking Dhaka with five major Indian cities on a weekly basis, besides a Delhi flight linking Chattogram with Kolkata,' the Ambassador said. He said that during the last financial year India has issued over 15 lakh visas to Bangladeshi citizens visiting India, while the number is going to be surpassed this year. "We do indeed want this number to grow because we believe that people-to-people relations are what makes our relationship special," he said. He said that the Indian High Commission in Dhaka is constantly endeavouring to improve its resources to better handle the huge volume of visa requests from Bangladeshi nationals. "The new transport links which are being constantly added to enhance our cross-border linkages and the rising number of our people travelling to each other's countries reflect a new era of our growing engagement and a new momentum in our people-to-people relations," he said. State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Mahbub Ali inaugurated the flight of the national flag carrier virtually as the chief, while Biman Bangladesh Airlines Managing Director and CEO Shafiul Azim gave the welcome speech. The inaugural flight operated by Boeing 737 carrying 161 passengers took off from Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at 12.50 pm (local time) and is scheduled to reach Chennai International Airport in India at 3:20 pm (local time). /IANS