PM leaves for London Monday to attend Girl Summit

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina leaves Dhaka for London on Monday morning to attend Girl Summit 2014 to be held in the UK capital on Tuesday where she is set to highlight her government’s firm pledges to eliminate child marriage for the greater national interest. The Bangladesh Premier will visit the UK at the invitation of British Prime Minister David Cameron and the UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake to join the summit in London scheduled for July 22, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali said today. Briefing newsmen at his ministry, he said the UK government and the UNICEF are jointly hosting the 1st-ever Girl Summit aimed at mobilising domestic and international efforts to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and Child, Early and Forced Marriage (CEFM) within a generation. The meeting will also help end early and forced marriage of girls, prevent violence against women, deliver their babies safely, get jobs, have education and supporting legal reforms to land and inheritance rights. The foreign minister said the Bangladesh Premier will lead a 20- member high-powered delegation to the summit, according to BSS.