PM Hasina reaches New Delhi to attend G20 summit

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has reached New Delhi in India on Friday to attend the G20 Summit to be held on 8-10 September, at the invitation of her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

A flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, carrying the prime minister and her entourage members, landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi at 12:40pm (local time).

On her arrival at the airport, she was received by Indian minister of state for railways and textiles Darshana Jardosh.

To welcome her, a red carpet was also rolled out at the airport with a traditional dance performance.

Earlier, the flight departed Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in Dhaka at 11am.

Prime minister's younger sister Sheikh Rehana is accompanying her during the visit.

Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen, in a media briefing, on Thursday said that the prime minister will join a bilateral meeting with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Friday afternoon at the residence of the Indian prime minister.

"Before the bilateral meeting of the two prime ministers, three MoUs are likely to be signed," Momen said.

Three MoUs are: cooperation in agriculture research, cultural exchange, and simplification of financial transactions between the common people of the two countries.

Upon commencing the G20 summit, on 9 September, prime minister Sheikh Hasina will attend different sessions while delivering two speeches under the main theme of the summit "One Earth, One Family, One Future".

During "One Earth" and "One Family" sessions, Momen said, the prime minister will point out how to address the challenges like climate change, economic recovery after Covid pandemic, war in Europe resulting the severe disruption of global supply of the essential commodities such as fuel, food and fertiliser.

Besides, she would present the experience of Bangladesh's incredible success in various socio-economic fields during the tenure of the current government to the participating world leaders, he added.

On the same day, the prime minister is expected to meet with the Saudi Arabian crown prince and prime minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Argentine president Alberto Angel Fernandez, South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol and United Arab Emirates (UAE) president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

On 10 September, the second and last day of the G20 summit, Sheikh Hasina along with the leaders of other countries will pay homage at the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat.

Later, she will join the concluding session of the conference. The "G20 New Delhi Leaders Declaration" will be adopted on the last day of the summit.

On 10 September, the prime minister will return home.

India's G20 presidency began in December 2022 and during this presidency term, India invited a total nine countries including Bangladesh to attend all the G20 summits.

The countries are- Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.

The G20 comprises 19 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States) and the European Union.

The G20 members represent around 85 per cent of the global GDP, over 75 per cent of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.