Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left for New Delhi on Friday morning on a three-day official visit to India to attend the G20 Summit, in a clear demonstration of the neighbouring country’s growing relations with Bangladesh.
A special flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, carrying the prime minister and her entourage, took off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on 11:00am. The flight is scheduled to land at Palam Airport, New Delhi at 1:15pm (local time).
Sheikh Hasina is visiting India to attend the G20 Summit as a special invitee of India. Bangladesh wants to be a big voice in the two-day summit beginning in New Delhi tomorrow.
During her stay in India, the prime minister will hold a bilateral meeting with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi this evening.
Important bilateral issues are expected to be discussed in the meeting, said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen while briefing reporters on Thursday.
“Three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) — on cooperation in agriculture research, cultural exchange programmes, simplification of financial transactions between the common people of the two countries (Taka-Indian rupee trade) — are expected to be signed before the bilateral meeting,” he said.
According to the programme schedule, Sheikh Hasina will reach Indian prime minister’s official residence Lok Kalyan Marg in the afternoon to hold the bilateral meeting and a tête-à-tête from 5:30pm to 7:00pm.
She will address two sessions of the G20 Heads of State and Government Summit, which will be held at Pragati Maidan, a convention-cum-exhibition centre christened Bharat Mandapam, with the theme ‘One Earth, One Family and One Future’.
In the two sessions titled ‘One Earth’ and ‘One Family,’ the prime minister will focus on different challenges like climate change in the Global South, post-Covid-19 economic recovery and disruption to the global supply of fuel, food and fertilisers and other essential commodities due to the ongoing war in Europe.
She will also share the experience of Bangladesh’s incredible success in various socio-economic fields to the world leaders participating in the conference.
On the sidelines of the summit, the prime minister is expected to meet heads of state and government of 4-5 other countries tomorrow.
Sheikh Hasina is likely to hold bilateral meetings with Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, Argentine President Alberto Angel Fernandez, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mohamed Bin Zayed and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the foreign minister said.
India, being the President of G20, invited nine countries, including Bangladesh, to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit as guest. The G20 is an intergovernmental forum comprised of 19 countries and the European Union.
Foreign Minister Momen, Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan, PM’s Ambassador-at-large Mohammad Ziauddin, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam and State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, among others, will accompany the prime minister during her visit.
Sheikh Hasina will return home on Sunday afternoon.
Source: The Daily SUN.