Joining G-7 outreach means world leaders confide in Sheikh Hasina’s leadership, foreign minister says

The foreign minister has said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s joining the G-7 outreach programme in Japan is the “reflection of world leaders’ confidence in her”.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 25 May 2016, 02:58 PM
Updated : 25 May 2016, 02:58 PM

The prime minister will leave for Japan on Thursday at the invitation of her Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe to attend the outreach programme on May 27 at Ise-Shima.
 
Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali on Wednesday, briefing the press about the visit, said the PM was requested to play a key role in four discussions -- health, women’s empowerment, sustainable development goals and infrastructure development.
 
Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, UK, and the US are the members of the G-7 platform.
 
The foreign minister said for the first time on Japan’s initiative they were inviting seven other leaders including Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam for discussing “contemporary issues”.
 
He said the prime minister had been invited due to Bangladesh’s “visible leadership role” on recent issues related to the 2030 sustainable development agenda, LDC, climate change, migration, and the UN’s global initiative or framework.
 
Apart from the outreach programme, the prime minister is scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with her Japanese counterpart on May 28, Ali said.
 
He said the PM will also inaugurate the new chancery building of Bangladesh on May 28, among her programmes until May 29.
 
He said they were also expecting bilateral meetings with other leaders.