Dhaka: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has arrived in Belgium in response to an invitation from Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, to join the “Global Gateway Forum.”
On Tuesday (October 24) local time, she reached Brussels Zaventem Airport at around 6 p.m. The Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim informed the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) of the matter.
Earlier on Tuesday, at 11:12 am, she left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on a commercial flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BG207) for Brussels. The Prime Minister will participate in various programs in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, on October 25-26.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Foreign Minister Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s upcoming visit to Brussels will help elevate Bangladesh’s relationship with the European Union (EU) to new heights.
He said that Bangladesh and the EU will announce the development of their 50-year partnership to a new height. During the trip, the Prime Minister will participate in several meetings with leaders of various European countries alongside joining the “Global Gateway Forum.”
On the morning of October 25, the Prime Minister will hold a bilateral meeting with the Vice President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis. Later, she will hold bilateral talks with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
After this meeting, an agreement will be signed for a 35 million euro loan in the new reflowable Jalaani account between the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Government of Bangladesh and the European Investment Bank. An agreement will also be signed for a 45 million euro grant in the Jalaani account in Bangladesh’s favor, between the European Commission and the European Investment Bank.
In addition to these, a 12 million euro grant agreement will be signed between the Government of Bangladesh and the European Commission. During this trip, the Government of Bangladesh and the European Commission will sign five different grant agreements totaling 70 million euros in Bangladesh’s social account.
On the same day, Sheikh Hasina will join the inaugural session of the Global Gateway Forum and deliver a speech. In the afternoon, she will meet with Dr. Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank. European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič and European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen will hold separate courtesy meetings with the Prime Minister.
In the evening, Sheikh Hasina will attend a banquet in honor of Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, in recognition of the respect of heads of state and government participating in the Global Gateway Forum.
On October 26, the Prime Minister will hold bilateral talks with Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium. She will also have bilateral talks with Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, on the same day. In the afternoon, she will join a program to meet and greet the expatriate Bangladeshis living in Belgium.
The TV channels Euronews and PolitiKo Bangladesh will also interview the Prime Minister. At the end of her visit on October 27, she will return home.
