Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina begins her 12-day tour of Canada, US

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has left Dhaka for London on a 12-day visit to Canada and the US.

She will attend the Fifth Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund in Montreal and the 71st UN General Assembly in New York.

A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the prime minister and her entourage took off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 10:35am on Wednesday.

Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, Public Administration Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, Information Minister Hasnul Haq Inu, Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Rashed Khan Menon and Chief Whip ASM Firoz saw the prime minister off at the airport.

Principal Secretary Abul Kalam Azad and the chiefs of the three services were present at that time.

The flight is expected to reach London's Heathrow International Airport at 16:05pm local time on Wednesday.

After a night's stay in London, Hasina will take an Air Canada flight to Montreal on Thursday to attend the Fifth Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund, her press officials said.

The Montreal conference on Sep 16-17 will discuss global strategies to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

The prime minister then will leave for New York to attend the 71st session of the UN General Assembly.

On Sep 16, Hasina will participate in the inaugural session of the Global Fund Conference and later join the Ministerial Pledging Moment with other heads of the states.

File Photo

She will finish the day by joining a dinner hosted by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

On the next day, she will participate in panel discussions titled 'Removing Barriers to Health through Empowering Women and Girls and Reaching the Most Marginalised' and 'Engaging the Youth to meet the Sustainable Development Goals'.

Then she will join a lunch hosted by the Canadian premier and Governor General David Johnston.

She will also have a bilateral meeting with Trudeau before attending a concert organised by the Global Fund.

On Sep 18, Hasina will take an Air Canada flight to New York and will drive into Hotel Waldorf Astoria in a motorcade.

The next day, she will deliver a speech at the UN General Assembly plenary on refugee rehabilitation.

After that, she will have a bilateral meeting with Myanmar's State Counselor and Foreign Minister Aung Sang Suu Kyi.

Later in the day, the prime minister will join a round table on global migration that will seek to focus on human rights for migrants in the context of 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

On Sep 20, Hasina will participate in the inaugural session of the UN General Assembly. Later, she will participate in an Asian Leaders Forum meeting on counter-terrorism organised by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Hotel Marriot Eastside.

Later she will attend a meeting on refugee issues organised by US President Barack Obama that will be followed by a reception.

On Sep 22, she is scheduled to engage the Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann and later attend the inaugural session of the Global Deal Initiative organised by the Swedish prime minister.

Later that evening, she will address the UN General Assembly before attending a reception hosted by Bangladeshi expatriates.

She will also address a press conference in the Bangladesh mission in New York on that day.

The prime minister will take an Emirates flight from Washington DC on Sep 25 and reach Dhaka the next day.