Hasina in Geneva to attend UN climate meet

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GENEVA (Switzerland), Sept 1 (UNB): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived in Geneva Tuesday afternoon to attend a five-day UN-sponsored international meet on climate change.
A flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the Premier and her entourage that included 44 members touched down at Geneva International Airport at local time 1:10pm (Bangladesh time 6:10pm).
On her arrival at the airport to attend the World Climate Conference-3 (WCC-3), State Councillor of Geneva Canton Francois Longchamp received the Bangladesh Prime Minister.
Chief of Protocol of UN Office in Geneva Sergei Shaposhnokov, Deputy Chief of Protocol of Geneva Canton Dominique Louis, Deputy Permanent Representative, Swiss Permanent Mission and Representative of the Swiss Federal Government, Geneva, Jurg Lauber and Bangladesh Ambassador and Permanent Representative to UN Office and other international organisations in Geneva Md Abdul Hannan were present.
Hasina and her entourage then drove in a decorated motorcade to Grand Hotel Kempinski, where the Bangladesh delegation will be staying during the tour.
Earlier at 8:40am in the day, Hasina and her entourage left Dhaka.
Hasina on the aircraft moved around talking to the passengers, who were looking happy getting their elected Prime Minister amongst them.
The passengers apprised the Prime Minister of various sorts of mismanagement in operating flights of the national airliners.
They sought immediate effective steps from the government to remove all "problems and complexities" regarding the flight service of the national flag carrier.
The Prime Minister gave a patient hearing to the passengers and assured them of taking necessary steps to improve the air-travel facilities.
She deplored that Biman Bangladesh Airlines, as all other sectors of the country, had been ruined due to "misrule and corruption" of the last BNP-Jamaat government.
"But our government is very sincere to develop the Biman Bangladesh Airlines' service. Inshallah, we'll be able to bring back the lost glory of Bangladesh Biman through modern planning and programming," she said.
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister MA Karim, Foreign Secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes, Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Abul Kalam Azad and noted journalist Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury, among others, are accompanying the Prime Minister on the Geneva trip.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's programmes at the WCC-3 will begin with delivering her statement Thursday (September 3) noon at the Geneva International Conference Centre (CICG), the venue for the climate conference, a precursor of Copenhagen meet in December.
On the day, Sheikh Hasina is also scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon at Palais Des Nations at 5:00pm. Besides, Helen Clarke, Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), will also call on the Prime Minister at her hotel suite.
On Friday, Sheikh Hasina will co-chair the high-level segment of the day's programmes of the conference.
World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Secretary-General Michel Jarraud, Vice-president of Colombia Francisco Santos Calderon and Moritz Leuenberger, Minister for Environment and former President of Switzerland, will call on her on the sidelines of the conference programmes in the CICG meeting rooms Friday.
On that day at 6:00pm, Bangladesh Community in Switzerland will give a reception to the Prime Minister at the hotel ballroom.
Besides, on Wednesday (September 2), Hasina is scheduled to visit Olympic Museum of Lausanne and Chateau de Chillon.
She will also have a briefing on Swiss Canton System organised by Vaud Canton Office and Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation Wednesday.
Hasina with her delegation is scheduled to leave Geneva at local time 10:30pm by flight No BG 018 on September 5 and is expected to fly back to Dhaka Airport at 1:00pm (Bangladesh Time).