PM leaves for Johannesburg today to join BRICS Summit

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is leaving Dhaka for Johannesburg, South Africa, this morning to attend the 15th BRICS Summit to be held on August 22-24 at the invitation of South African President and current chair of the BRICS Cyril Ramaphosa. "The prime minister will leave Dhaka for Johannesburg, South Africa on August 22 to attend the BRICS Summit," Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told a news briefing at his ministry here on Sunday.

A regular flight (EK 583) of the Emirates Airlines carrying the premier and her entourage members is scheduled to depart from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at 10:15am on Tuesday, PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told. The flight will land at the O.R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg at 20:50 hrs (local time) after a short stopover at the Dubai International Airport. From the airport, Sheikh Hasina will be escorted to her Palace of Residence, the Radisson Blu Hotel Sandton.

South Africa is hosting the summit of the BRICS, a group of major emerging economies- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to attend the summit. It will be the first BRICS Summit to be hosted in person since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent global restrictions.

On August 23, the Bangladesh prime minister will deliver a speech at the "Bangladesh Trade and Business Summit" as the chief guest, jointly organized by Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) at the Radisson Blu Hotel and Convention Center at 10am.

On the same day, she will speak at the "Bangladesh Envoys Conference” organized by Bangladesh ambassadors stationed in African countries to be held at Rivonia 7th Floor, the Palace of Residence at 12:30pm. Later in the afternoon, she is likely to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President XI Jinping at the Hotel Hilton Sandton. At the evening, the prime minister will attend a cultural programme and a "State Banquet" hosted by the current chair of BRICS and the South African president at the Gallagher Estate, Johannesburg.

On August 24, the prime minister will deliver a speech on behalf of Bangladesh as a member of the "New Development Bank of BRICS" in 'BRICS -Friends of BRICS Leaders Dialogue (BRICS-Africa Outreach and the BRICS Plus Dialogues) comprising representatives from 70 countries to begin at 9am in the Sandton Convention Centre. The prime minister is scheduled to depart from the O.R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg for home by a flight (EK 762) of the Emirates Airlines at 1:40pm (local time) on August 26.

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