Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will arrive in the capital on February 1 on a three-day official visit, which is expected to further strengthen the relationship between the two nations. This is going to be the first bilateral visit by a Palestinian President since former President Yasir Arafat made a trip to Bangladesh in 1997, officials of the Foreign Ministry said yesterday. However, Abbas made couple of stopovers at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport before, during his visits to different countries. “In sha Allah, he will arrive on February 1. Both sides are taking preparations for this,” Yousef S Y Ramadan, Charge d’ Affaires of the Palestinian Embassy in Dhaka, told The Independent after a meeting with the Chief of Protocol yesterday.
“All the bilateral aspects will be discussed and the signing of two deals is under consideration during his visit,” he said without elaborating further.
While in Dhaka, the officials said that among other engagements, the Palestinian Head of the State and Government will meet President Abdul Hamid and hold official talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Both the sides will discuss as to how the existing excellent cooperation can further be enhanced, they said.
The officials further said that Bangladesh always remains steadfast and vocal internationally for the creation of an independent State of Palestine and Dhaka will do all it can for the betterment of the Palestinian people. Both the sides will look for new avenues so that more assistance can be provided for Palestine, they said. Currently, they added that some Palestinian students are receiving education, some military officials are undertaking training and some experts are working in different fields in Bangladesh. Granting Palestinian products duty free access to Bangladesh will also be discussed, said the officials.