PM off to Dammam on nine-day visit to Saudi Arabia, UK

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka on Sunday afternoon on a nine-day official visit to Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom, reports UNB.

A Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight carrying the prime minister and her entourage took off from Hazrat Shahjalal Interna- tional Airport for Dammam at 4:40pm.

The flight is scheduled to reach Dammam King Fahd International Airport at 7:50 pm (local time).

During the two-nation visit, the prime minister will attend the concluding ceremony of a joint military exercise named 'Gulf Shield-1' at Dammam of Saudi Arabia and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London.

She will join the concluding ceremony of 'Gulf Shield-1' at the invitation of Saudi King and Custodian of the two Holy Mosques, Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud.

In Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Hasina will take part in a parade apart from the concluding ceremony of the joint military exercise in the Eastern Province of Al-Jubail today (Monday).

After attending the concluding ceremony, Hasina will leave Dammam for London at 5pm today (Monday) by a special flight.

The flight is scheduled to land at Heathrow International Airport in London at 10:30pm (local time).

On April 17, the prime minister will attend the Commonwealth Women Forum as a presenter at a session on 'Educate to empower: making equitable and quality primary education and secondary education a reality for girls across the Commonwealth" in the morning at Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Westminster.

Sheikh Hasina will join a high-level programme to be organised by Overseas Development Institute (ODI), a prestigious think-tank of the UK, in the afternoon.

She will be the keynote speaker on 'Development Progress of Bangladesh: Policy, Progress and Prospect' at the programme.

On April 19, Sheikh Hasina will attend the formal opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and the official welcome to be hosted by the British Prime Minister.

She will join a reception to be hosted by Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland QC and a presentation and a reception followed by dinner to be hosted by Queen Elizabeth II in honour of Heads of Government and their spouses/partners.

On April 21, she will join a reception for the participating Commonwealth Heads of Government and the Queen's Birthday Party Concert to be organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS).

Hasina will join a community reception the same day.

On April 22, the prime minister will leave London at 4:20pm and return home at 9:15am on April 23.