PM Hasina accorded red carpet reception in Japan

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has arrived at the Japanese city of Nagoya to attend the G7 Outreach Meeting.

She was accorded a red carpet reception when the Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight carrying her landed at Chubu Centrair International Airport at 7:05pmlocal time.

The national flags of Bangladesh and Japan were hoisted at the airport.

The Bangladesh leader was received by Japan’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Miki Yamada, Chief of Protocol Kaoru Shimazaki, and Aichi prefecture official Hajime Nakanishi, among others. Rabab Fatima, Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Japan, was also present.

A woman attired in traditional Japanese kimono greeted Hasina with a bouquet. A smartly turned-out contingent of the Japanese armed forces presented a guard of honour when the prime minister alighted from her aircraft.

The prime minister’s motorcade took her to Hilton Nagoya hotel, where she will stay for three days during her four-day visit to Japan.

Sheikh Hasina's sister Sheikh Rehana, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, senior Awami League leader Akhtaruzzaman and a delegation of 30 businessmen led by the FBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmad are accompanying the prime minister.

Earlier, the prime minister left Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka for Japan at 10am (BdST).

During her visit, Sheikh Hasina will hold bilateral meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as well as with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena.

On Friday, Hasina will attend the G7 event at Ise-Shima. She will also meet Cameron there.

Apart from Bangladesh, the leaders of Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea and Chad as well as the African Union chairperson have been invited to the Outreach Meeting.

The Group of Seven (G7) platform comprises the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the UK.

Its members meet annually to discuss such issues as global economic governance, international security, and energy policy.

Besides the annual summit of G7 leaders, a meeting with other countries, known as the G7 Outreach, from outside the group is also held.

Sheikh Hasina will leave Nagoya for Tokyo on Saturday. She will inaugurate the Bangladesh embassy’s new chancery complex in Tokyo.

A Memorandum of Understanding  between the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) is expected to be signed after a meeting with Japanese businessmen on Sunday.

Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to leave Tokyo for Dhaka on Sunday after attending a reception in her honour by expatriate Bangladeshis.