Hasina in Mongolia to attend ASEM
UNB
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was accorded a red carpet reception as she arrived in Ulaanbaatar yesterday on a three-day official visit to Mongolia to attend the 11th Asia-Europe Summit (ASEM), reports UNB. The two-day summit begins at Shangri-La Hotel in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar Friday. A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the Prime Minister and members of her entourage landed at Chinggis Khaan International Airport at Ulaanbaatar at 7.30 pm (local time). Bangladesh Ambassador to Mongolia Fazlul Karim and Chief of Staff of the President of Mongolia and the Ambassador at Large P. Tsagaan received the Prime Minister. Later, the Prime Minister was given a static guard of honour by the Mongolian armed forces. From the airport, the Prime Minister in a ceremonial motorcade was taken to ASEM Villa where she will be staying during the visit. Earlier, the VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the Prime Minister and her entourage took off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HISA) at 11.30 am. During the Summit, Hasina and her Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe will co-chair a special discussion to be presented by other global leaders. On Friday, Hasina will attend the inaugural session of the Summit. President of Mongolia Tskhiazin Elbegdorj will receive Sheikh Hasina on her arrival at the summit venue at Shangri-La Hotel. The Prime Minister will attend the first and second plenary sessions of the Summit and deliver her speech on 20 years of ASEM: Partnership for the Future through connectivity. The Prime Minister will hold meetings with Swiss President Johan Schneider, Russian Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev, Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister of Italy Paolo Gentiloni on Friday.
She will also attend a banquet to be hosted by the Mongolian President in honour of the guests at Mongol Gen at ASEM Village.
On Saturday, the Prime Minister will hold meetings with Myanmar President Htin Kyaw, Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari, President of European Council Donald Tusk and President of European Commission Jean Claude Junker. She will also join a retreat session of the ASEM leaders.
The Bangladesh Prime Minister, in the meeting with the world leaders, is likely to highlight the countrys security situation and the governments firm commitment to tackle terrorism and extremism in the aftermath of two recent terror attacks in Bangladesh.
The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is an informal process of dialogue and cooperation bringing together 53 members, including the 28 European Union member states, two other European countries, and the European Union with 21 Asian countries and the Asean Secretariat.
The exclusively Asian-European forum was officially established on 1 March 1996 at the first summit in Bangkok, Thailand. Bangladesh joined the forum in 2012. The ASEM member countries are: Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, the Lao PDR, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Vietnam, while the European Union and the ASEAN Secretariat are the regional organisations involved.
