Indonesian President arrives in Dhaka

President Md Abdul Hamid and his wife Rasheda Khanam receive Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his wife Iriana Joko Widodo on their arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Saturday. — PID

Indonesian President Joko Widodo and First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo arrived in Dhaka on Saturday for a two-day trip to visit the Rohingya refugee camps, reports bdnews24.com.

The two arrived at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport aboard a special flight around 4:35pm.

The two were received by President Md Abdul Hamid and his wife Rashida Khanam.

They received gun salute and were presented with flowers as they disembarked from the plane.

Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam and State Minister for Health Zahid Maleque were also at the airport.

The Indonesian president will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (Sunday) before travelling to the Rohingya refugee camps.

Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi visited Bangladesh in September to show solidarity with the country's efforts to take in and shelter hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar.

Indonesian Energy and Mining State Minister Archandra Tahar had indicated the two countries might sign an LNG agreement prior to Widodo's flight.

Trade between Bangladesh and Indonesia amounted to $1.33 billion, of which $1.19 billion was Indonesian exports, according to Indonesia's Department of Statistics.