Dhaka is aware of the row between Riyadh and Doha over Qatar’s alleged link with terrorism which led Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain and the Maldives, a country belonging to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), to sever diplomatic ties with that country.
“We are aware of it,” foreign minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali did not go beyond this while replying to a question in this regard at a press conference at the ministry. The press conference was organised on the occasion of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s maiden bilateral visit to Sweden on 15-16.
This was the first comment by the foreign minister on the fallout between Saudi Arabia  
and Qatar, both of which host substantial size of Bangladeshi expatriates and have good relations with Bangladesh.
According to senior officials of the foreign ministry, Bangladesh is carefully observing the situation and that Dhaka will have to show its wisdom in dealing with the situation.
Regarding the visit of the Prime Minister, her second overseas visit during this Ramadan, the foreign minister said that Hasina will leave for Stockholm tomorrow (Tuesday) at the invitation of her Swedish counterpart Stefan Löfven.
This will be the first ever bilateral visit by any head of government Bangladesh to the European nation.
On the way to the Swedish capital, Prime Minister Hasina will pay a stopover in London where family members including recently reelected British member of parliament Tulip Siddiq reside.
This visit is expected to ‘deepen and expand’ the cooperation between the countries and also ‘brighten’ country’s image in Europe, said the foreign minister.
Two memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Sweden-Bangladesh Business Council and Nordic Chamber of Commerce and Industries are to be signed during the visit. Dhaka and Stockholm will issue a joint statement on the visit. While in Sweden, the prime minister will hold bilateral meeting with her Swedish counterpart. Besides, she will hold meetings with Swedish deputy prime minister, acting speaker and minister for justice and migration. The prime minister will be accompanied by a 47-member business delegation.
She will return home on June 17.