President flies to Kazakhstan today President M Abdul Hamid will fly to Kazakhstan's capital Astana today to attend 'The First Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Science and Technology' to be held there on September 10-11, reports BSS."A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the President and his entourage will leave Hazrat Shahjalal (R) Airport for the OIC Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan tomorrow afternoon," President's Press Secretary Mohammad Joynal Abedin told BSS.

President Hamid will lead the Bangladesh delegation comprising officials from the Office of the President, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Science and Technology, at the two-day summit.  The OIC, consisting of 57 member states, is dedicated to working for "safeguarding and protecting the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony".

Ambassador of Bangladesh to Uzbekistan and concurrently accredited to Kazakhstan Mosud Mannan will receive the President and his delegation at Astana Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport on the day.

"During the visit, the President is expected to have bilateral meetings with his Kazakh counterpart and some of other counterparts from the participating member states on the sidelines of the summit," he added. In pursuance of the resolution of the Twelfth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference, held in Cairo on 6-7 February, 2013, the OIC First Science and Technology Summit will be held in Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan on 10-11 September, 2017, with a view to identifying priorities, goals and targets for the advancement and promotion of science, technology and innovation in the OIC Member States.

The summit which will be the first ever heads of state and government meeting devoted exclusively to Science and Technology will set the stage for shaping the future of Science & Technology agenda, reaffirm the commitment of the leadership to science and technology at the highest level and identify priorities, targets and recommended actions for the Muslim countries in the field of Science and Technology for the next decade.