Hasina to apprise Japan, Italian PMs of security situation

She leaves for Mongolia Thursday to attend ASEM Summit

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will personally explain the security situation of the country and give assurance when she will hold meetings with her counterparts of Japan and Italy on the sidelines of the 11th Summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) to be held in Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar on July 15-16. Hasina is going to meet Shinzo Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister, and Matteo Renzi, the Prime Minister of Italy, on the sidelines of the Summit, diplomatic sources told The Independent yesterday. The meetings are taking place against the background of the terrorist attack in a Gulshan restaurant in Dhaka that left nine Italians and seven Japanese killed. The prime minister and her delegation will leave the capital for Ulaanbaatar on Thursday to attend the ASEM Summit and scheduled to return home on Saturday, said the sources. ASEM is an exclusively Asian–European forum to enhance relations and various forms of cooperation between 51 countries and two regional organisations – European Union (EU) and ASEAN Secretariat. Connectivity is the theme of this Summit and apart from Mongolia declaration, a separate statement on terrorism on overall terrorism across the globe will also be adopted in the Summit, said the sources.
Apart from the meetings with the Japanese and Italian Prime Ministers on the sidelines, they said that Hasina is scheduled to meet some high-profile world leaders including EU President Jean-Claude Juncker, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Myanmar President Htin Kyaw.
On the meetings with Abe and Renzi, the sources said that obviously the Gulshan issue will dominate and the prime minister will explain her counterparts about Bangladesh’s security situation -- both in local and global contexts.
She will share her thoughts and will want to know what they think, the sources said. After the Gulshan attack, Japanese Prime Minister had a telephone conversation with Hasina while Italian foreign minister spoke to his Bangladeshi counterpart.
Mentioning the measures taken to safeguard the foreigners including Japanese and Italians, the sources said that the prime minister will assure her counterparts that Dhaka will do its best to provide safety to the foreigners as well as their investments.
Given the earlier killings of an Italian and a Japanese national, some Italians and Japanese fear whether they are targeted by the terrorists, the sources said. About the attitude of Italy and Japan after the Gulshan attack, a senior official of the foreign ministry observed that Italians appear to be ‘softer’ than the Japanese.
About the meetings with other leaders, the sources said apart from different aspects of bilateral relations, terrorism is most likely to be discussed as it is not only a problem of Bangladesh, rather a problem of the whole world.

 

Hasina to apprise Japan, Italian PMs of security situation

She leaves for Mongolia Thursday to attend ASEM Summit

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will personally explain the security situation of the country and give assurance when she will hold meetings with her counterparts of Japan and Italy on the sidelines of the 11th Summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) to be held in Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar on July 15-16. Hasina is going to meet Shinzo Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister, and Matteo Renzi, the Prime Minister of Italy, on the sidelines of the Summit, diplomatic sources told The Independent yesterday. The meetings are taking place against the background of the terrorist attack in a Gulshan restaurant in Dhaka that left nine Italians and seven Japanese killed. The prime minister and her delegation will leave the capital for Ulaanbaatar on Thursday to attend the ASEM Summit and scheduled to return home on Saturday, said the sources. ASEM is an exclusively AsianEuropean forum to enhance relations and various forms of cooperation between 51 countries and two regional organisations European Union (EU) and ASEAN Secretariat. Connectivity is the theme of this Summit and apart from Mongolia declaration, a separate statement on terrorism on overall terrorism across the globe will also be adopted in the Summit, said the sources. Apart from the meetings with the Japanese and Italian Prime Ministers on the sidelines, they said that Hasina is scheduled to meet some high-profile world leaders including EU President Jean-Claude Juncker, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Myanmar President Htin Kyaw. On the meetings with Abe and Renzi, the sources said that obviously the Gulshan issue will dominate and the prime minister will explain her counterparts about Bangladeshs security situation -- both in local and global contexts. She will share her thoughts and will want to know what they think, the sources said. After the Gulshan attack, Japanese Prime Minister had a telephone conversation with Hasina while Italian foreign minister spoke to his Bangladeshi counterpart. Mentioning the measures taken to safeguard the foreigners including Japanese and Italians, the sources said that the prime minister will assure her counterparts that Dhaka will do its best to provide safety to the foreigners as well as their investments. Given the earlier killings of an Italian and a Japanese national, some Italians and Japanese fear whether they are targeted by the terrorists, the sources said. About the attitude of Italy and Japan after the Gulshan attack, a senior official of the foreign ministry observed that Italians appear to be softer than the Japanese. About the meetings with other leaders, the sources said apart from different aspects of bilateral relations, terrorism is most likely to be discussed as it is not only a problem of Bangladesh, rather a problem of the whole world.