Prime Minister Tariq Rahman left for Malaysia. This is his first state visit as Prime Minister of Bangladesh. A special Bangladesh flight carrying him left Dhaka’s Shahjalal Airport at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.
It is a two-day visit of Prime Minister Tariq Rahman. His wife Dr. as a travel companion. Zubaida Rahman. It is expected that Bangladesh’s status, development, investment, employment and initiatives to strengthen international relations will be important in the visit.
LGRD Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Parliament Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni, Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani, Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Saleh Shibli, Malaysian High Commissioner in Dhaka Shuhada Osman, Chinese Ambassador Yao Wen and senior government officials bid farewell to the Prime Minister at the airport.
BNP formed the government on February 17 after getting an absolute majority in the 13th National Assembly elections. After four months, Prime Minister and BNP Chairman Tariq Rahman went on his first foreign visit.
Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman, Expatriate Welfare and Foreign Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury, Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Humayun Kabir, Expatriate Welfare and Foreign Employment Affairs Adviser Mahdi Amin, Defense Affairs Adviser AKM Shamsul Islam, State Minister for Energy and Power Anindya Islam Amit.
At a press conference in Dhaka on Saturday, Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam outlined Prime Minister Tariq Rahman’s six-day tour schedule to Malaysia and China.
The Foreign Secretary said that Prime Minister Tariq Rahman will be officially welcomed in Malaysia on Sunday, the first day of the visit. The next day, there will be a private meeting between the heads of government of the two countries at the Malaysian Prime Minister’s office in Putrajaya. After this, a bilateral meeting will be held under the leadership of the Prime Ministers of both the countries.
During the Prime Minister’s visit, there will be discussions about establishing greater cooperation between the two countries in various fields including trade and investment expansion, energy cooperation, halal economy, sending workers, semiconductor industry and agriculture, education and public communication, said Foreign Secretary Siam. He said, ‘In particular, there will be a request for the recruitment of new Bangladeshi workers in various sectors of Malaysia and the welfare of Bangladeshis.’
Asad Alam Siam also said that during his visit to Malaysia, Bangladesh’s request to join ASEAN’s ‘Dialogue Partner and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership-RCEP’ will be strongly highlighted and Malaysila’s support will be sought.
After completing his two-day visit to Malaysia, Prime Minister Tariq Rahman will leave for China’s Dalian with his entourage. The Foreign Secretary said that according to the proposed programme, the Prime Minister will leave Kuala Lumpur for Dalian on June 22 at noon, arriving in the evening.
Prime Minister Tariq Rahman is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on June 26. After the meeting, he will leave Beijing for Dhaka that afternoon.
Times BD/RA
