Hasina returns after UN General Assembly in US, Global Fund meet in Canada

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has returned home after a 17-day trip to the US and Canada.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 30 Sept 2016, 01:22 PM
Updated : 30 Sept 2016, 02:46 PM

The leaders and activists of the Awami League, its affiliates and partners in the ruling coalition gathered in the streets on Friday to welcome her for receiving UN-women 'Planet 50-50 Champion' and Global Partnership Forum 'Agent of Change Award' during the visit.

The aircraft carrying her landed at Shahjalal International Airport at 6:42pm, over one and a half hours behind schedule because of the delay during a stoppage in Dubai.

After the prime minister emerged from the aircraft, Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam and Joint General Secretary Mahbub-Ul Alam Hanif greeted her with flowers at the boarding bridge.

Senior Presidium Member and Deputy Leader of Parliament Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury gave her a hug.

Ministers, prime minister's advisers, Dhaka mayors, and other top Awami League leaders were also present.

The motorcade of the prime minister reached the Ganabhaban within half an hour of departure from the airport.

bdnews24.com correspondents posted at various points in the capital reported mass gathering on the streets with banners, placards and balloons in hand to celebrate the party chief's homecoming.

Some areas experienced traffic congestions due to her supporters pressuring traffic and overcrowding the street from the airport to her official residence Ganabhaban.

Hasina left the US for Bangladesh on Thursday night.

She celebrated her birthday in the US with her son Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed Joy and his family on Sep 28 after attending the UN General Assembly.

In Canada, she attended the Fifth Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund, which discussed global strategies to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria on Sep 16.

She also conferred Bangladesh's 'Friends of Liberation War Honour' award on the late Canadian prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. His son and current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau received the award.