PM flies to Morocco Monday to join COP-22

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to leave here for Marrakech of Morocco on a three-day official visit on Monday to attend two high-level segment of the Conference of the Parties (COP-22), officials said here yesterday.

Foreign ministry officials said a VVIP flight (BG-1019) of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the premier and her entourage members will depart Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport here for Marrakech, a former imperial city in western Morocco, at 10 am.

The flight is scheduled to land at Menara Airport in Marrakech at 4.30 pm local time and on arrival a ceremonial motorcade would escorted her to Hotel La Mamounia where she will be staying during her visit to Morocco.

Sheikh Hasina will deliver her statement at the high-level segments of COP-22 on November 15 where she is expected to highlight Bangladesh's position to address the climate challenges and urge global leaders to intensify a campaign to advance the national and collective efforts to address this immense challenge.

Along with other heads of state and government, the premier will attend a lunch to be hosted by King of Morocco Mohammed VI the same day.

Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to return home on November 16 night after concluding her three-day visit to Morocco. COP-22, which began on November 7 and runs through November 18 in Bab Ighli of Marrakech, Morocco, is the first such meeting since the historic adoption of the Paris Agreement at COP-21 in December last year.

Meanwhile, the prime minister will visit Hungary from November 28-30 to attend the Budapest Water Summit 2016. The Hungarian government in cooperation with the World Water Council will organize the three-day event.

The aim of the event is to promote in a very concrete manner the implementation of the sustainable development water goal and all related targets on water and sanitation and to achieve progress in the implementation of the water-related aspects of the Paris Climate Agreement.

The event is planned to pursue a pragmatic, solution-oriented approach which is open to innovative and cost-efficient technologies and methods that can be turned into bankable projects as soon as possible.

Source: BSS