PM off to New Delhi to attend G20 Summit

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left here this morning for New Delhi to attend the G20 Summit from September 8-10 at the invitation of her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

A flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, carrying the premier and her entourage members, took off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at 11:00am.

The flight is scheduled to land at the Palam Airport in New Delhi at 01:15pm (New Delhi time).

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, in a media briefing, on Thursday said that the Bangladesh premier will join a bilateral meeting with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi this afternoon at the residence of the Indian Prime Minister.

"Before the bilateral meeting of the two prime ministers, three MoUs are likely to be signed," Momen said.

Three MoUs are: "Cooperation in the agriculture research ", "cultural exchange" and "simplification of financial transactions between the common people of the two countries".

Upon commencing the G20 summit, on September 9, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will attend different sessions while delivering two speeches under the main theme of the summit "One Earth, One Family, One Future".

During "One Earth" and "One Family" sessions, Momen said, the Bangladesh Premier will point out how to address the challenges like climate change, economic recovery after Covid pandemic, war in Europe resulting the severe disruption of global supply of the essential commodities such as fuel, food and fertiliser.

Besides, the Prime Minister would present the experience of Bangladesh's incredible success in various socio-economic fields during the tenure of the current government to the participating world leaders, he added.

On the same day, the Prime Minister is expected to meet with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Argentine President Alberto Angel Fernandez, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

On September 10, the second and last day of the G20 summit, Bangladesh Prime Minister along with the leaders of other countries will pay homage at the Memorial of Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat.

After that she will join the concluding session of the conference. The "G20 New Delhi Leaders Declaration" will be adopted on the last day of the summit.

On September 10, the premier will return home.

India's G20 presidency began in December 2022 and during this presidency term, India invited a total nine countries including Bangladesh to attend in all the G20 summit.

The countries are- Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.

The G20 comprises 19 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States) and the European Union.

The G20 members represent around 85 percent of the global GDP, over 75 percent of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.

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