Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina leaves Dhaka for Abu Dhabi on Saturday morning on a three-day official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) aimed at further boosting Bangladesh’s bilateral ties with the oil-rich nation and increasing manpower export.
A VVIP flight of national flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the prime minister and members of her entourage is scheduled to take off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 8:30am.
The flight is expected to reach Abu Dhabi International Airport at 11:30am (UAE time).
During the three-day bilateral tour to the UAE, the prime minister is scheduled to hold meetings with Mother of the Nation Sheikh Fatima, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on October 26, according to foreign ministry sources.
Sheikh Hasina will also attend a reception of Bangladeshi community in Abu Dhabi.
On October 27, she will fly to Dubai to hold a meeting with Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
After holding the meeting, the prime minister will fly to Ras al-Khaimah (RAK) for holding meeting with its ruler Sheikh Saud Bin Aaqr Al Qasimi. Before that she will attend a luncheon hosted by the ruler of RAK.
From there she will again fly to Dubai to catch the home-bound VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines at about 4:45pm and expected to reach in Dhaka at about 11:30pm.
According to the sources, half a dozen agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on trade, manpower and investment are expected to be signed between Bangladesh and the UAE during the visit.
The instruments likely to be inked include an MoU on foreign office consultation, an MoU with a UAE outsourcing company to resume manpower export, an agreement on transfer of sentenced persons, a deal on promotion and protection of investment, an agreement on establishing a hospital by Al-Nahyan Foundation, UAE, in Rangunia, Chittagong, an agreement on visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders, an MoU on cooperation on higher education and scientific research and an agreement on handing over a piece of land in Dhaka for the UAE embassy.
Meanwhile, the cabinet on Monday approved a proposal for signing of an agreement between Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), aiming to increase security cooperation between the two countries to control crimes.
The UAE is currently the fifth largest investing country in Bangladesh with $2.5 billion total investment in telecommunications, banking, ceramic, chemicals and textiles, according to the Board of Investment.
Bangladesh exported goods worth $ 245 million in 2013-2014 to the UAE against its import of $843 million. RMG constituted around 78 percent of Bangladesh’s exports to the UAE.
Source: Prothom Alo
