Hasina on way to Sydney to receive Global Women's Leadership Award

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is on her way to Australia on the three-day trip after a stopover in Bangkok.

Sumon Mahbub from Bangkokbdnews24.com
Published : 26 April 2018, 04:32 PM
Updated : 26 April 2018, 04:32 PM

She will receive the prestigious Global Women's Leadership Award in Sydney during the visit at the invitation of her Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull.

She is travelling with Thai Airways and the plane left Shahjalal International Airport around 2pm on Thursday local time.

Besides her sister Sheikh Rehana, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and State Minister for Women and Children’s Affairs Meher Afroze Chumki are accompanying the prime minister.

They stopped at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok at 5pm Thai Standard Time and started for Sydney at 7:20pm.

Thailand PMO Minister Kobsak Pootrakool and Bangladesh Ambassador in Thailand Saida Muna Tasneem met Hasina at the airport and bade her farewell.

The prime minister is scheduled to reach Sydney on Friday morning local time.She will meet Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on the first day of her visit. She will also meet Vietnam President Trần Đại Quang there.

Hasina will receive the Global Women's Leadership Award at International Convention Centre Sydney on Friday evening.

She will highlight her government's initiatives for women’s empowerment and mainstreaming them in the national development in her speech, Foreign Minister Ali said earlier.

US-based Global Summit of Women will give the award for Hasina's leadership in women’s education and entrepreneurship in Bangladesh.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe got the award last year.

Former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and former Unesco director general Irina Bokova are among the recipients of this award. Hasina will have a bilateral meeting with her Australian counterpart Turnbull on Saturday and will mainly focus on education, sports, human resources development, trade and investment, energy, power, agriculture and ICT.

The prime minister last visited Australia in 2011 to attend the 22nd Commonwealth Summit.