A red carpet was rolled out as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived Jeddah on Friday (May 31) afternoon on a four-day official visit to attend the 14th conference of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
A special flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the PM and her entourage members landed at the King Abdulaziz International Airport at 5:25 p.m. (Saudi time), reports said.
Prince Badr bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, deputy governor of Makkah Region, received the PM at the airport.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, Bangladesh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the OIC Golam Mosih and Bangladesh Consul General in Jeddah FM Borhan Uddin were also present at the airport.
Upon her arrival at the airport, the premier was given a guard of honour by a smartly-turned out contingent of the Saudi Armed Forces.
From the airport, the premier went to Makkah to attend the OIC conference.
She attended the opening ceremony of the OIC summit at Safa Palace, Makkah in the evening.
Earlier, the premier departed Haneda International Airport, Tokyo for Jeddah wrapping up her four-day official visit to Japan. Japanese state minister for foreign affairs Toshiko Abe and Bangladeshi ambassador to Japan Rababa Fatima saw the premier off at the airport.
Saudi Arabia is hosting the 14th session of the OIC Islamic Summit in Makkah on May 31 and on Jun 1. Sheikh Hasina will perform Umrah in Makkah on Jun 1.
On Jun 2 morning, the PM will depart Jeddah for Madinah by air and offer Fateha at the Rawza Mubarak (grave) of Great Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH). In the evening, she will leave Madinah for Jeddah by air.
On Jun 3, the PM will depart Jeddah for Helsinki, Finland. She will land at Helsinki International Airport.
During her stay in Japan from May 28 to 31, the PM held bilateral talks with her Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe.
After the talks, Bangladesh and Japan signed their 40th Official Development Assistance (ODA) deal involving US$ 2.5 billion for implementing four projects.
The premier addressed the 25th Nikkei International Conference in Tokyo as one of the keynote speakers and attended several meetings including a community reception by Bangladeshi expatriates.
She left Dhaka for Tokyo on May 28 on her 12-day tri-nation tour to Japan, Saudi Arabia and Finland.
