PM Hasina gets red carpet welcome after reaching New Delhi

A red carpet was rolled out as Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reached New Delhi on Friday on a three-day visit to attend the G-20 summit in New Delhi at the invitation of her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

On arrival at Indira Gandhi International Airport at 12:40pm local time (1:10pm BD time), the premier was received by Indian Minister of State for Railways and Textiles Darshana Vikram Jardosh. A cultural team also performed a welcome dance at the airport.

Earlier, Hasina and her entourage members left Dhaka for New Delhi by a special flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines in the morning. Bangabandhu’s youngest daughter Sheikh Rehana is accompanying her elder sister Hasina during the visit.

PM Hasina will hold a bilateral meeting with Modi on Friday evening when different important bilateral issues are expected to be discussed, UNB reports.

She is scheduled to arrive at the Indian PM’s residence for the meeting from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm.

Three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) –on cooperation in agriculture research, cultural exchange programmes, easing transactions between BDT and Indian Rupee (the common people of the two countries)– are expected to be signed before the bilateral meeting.

During her three-day visit the Bangladesh PM will address two sessions of the G-20 Leaders’ Summit, which is going to be kicked off at Bharat Mandapam Centre, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi with the theme of ‘One Earth, One Family and One Future’ on Saturday (September 9).

She will focus on different challenges like climate change in the global south, post-Covid-19 economic recovery, and disruption of the global supply of fuel, food and fertilizers and other essential commodities due to the ongoing war in Europe. She will also raise 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 premier is expected to meet four to five other visiting leaders on Saturday.

There is a possibility of (holding bilateral) meetings with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz, Argentinian President Alberto Angel Fernandez, UAE President Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

India, being the president of G-20, invited nine countries including Bangladesh to the summit as guests, which are being held in New Delhi on September 9 and 10. The G20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union.

On September 10 (Sunday), the prime minister will return home in the afternoon, leaving New Delhi by a chartered flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines at 12:30pm.