PM arrives in Kuwait for talks on aid, investment, labour issues
Posted: 08/02/2010 - 13:49
• A red carpet was rolled out to greet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as she landed at Kuwait International Airport on
Sunday afternoon to begin a 3-day state visit to the Gulf country. Advisor to the Kuwaiti Prime Minister Dr Sheikh Rafah al Sabah al Jaber received Sheikh Hasina at the tarmac as a special airplane carrying her flew into the airport at 6pm (local time).
The Prime Minister was given a guard of honour by a smartly turned-out contingent. Bangladesh Ambassador to Kuwait Shahed Reza was present.
Later, the Prime Minister drove to Bayan Palace in a ceremonial motorcade.
The Prime Minister will hold official talks with her Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah today (Monday) on a wide range of matters of bilateral cooperation, encompassing development assistance, investment and labor issues.
Earlier, the special plane sent by Emir of Kuwait Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, carrying the Prime Minister and the members of her entourage, took off from Zia International Airport at 2:07 pm. Awami League leaders, including Deputy Leader in Parliament Syeda Sajeda Chowdury, Finance Minister AMA Muhith and Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury, chiefs of the three services, dean of the diplomatic corps, and high civil and military officials, among others, saw off the Prime Minister at the VVIP terminal of the airport.
"At the talks, Bangladesh will seek assistance for development of communications infrastructures, including the mega-project of Padma Bridge, and support for the country's energy sector," one official told UNB. Presently, Kuwait Development Fund is providing aid worth US$ 660 million for 21 projects in Bangladesh.
A proposal for recruiting more workforces from Bangladesh will come up prominently during the talks with the Kuwaiti leaders, officials in Dhaka said. Some 2.5 lakh Bangladeshis are now employed in the oil-rich Middle-eastern country.
Before the official talks, Hasina will pay a courtesy call on Emir Sabah IV Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah today (Monday) morning at Dewani Emir. The Prime Minister will return home early Wednesday.
Source:The Bangladesh Today
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