Hasina reaches Madrid to attend COP25 climate summit

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reached the Spanish capital Madrid on a three-day visit to attend the 25th annual United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, more commonly known as COP25.

A special flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the prime minister and her team landed at the Madrid–Torrejón Airport at 5:40pm local time on Sunday.

Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the World Tourism Organization Hassan Mahmood Khandker received the prime minister at the airport.

After the reception, she was escorted to the Hotel Villa Magna where she is staying during the visit.

This year's climate conference will take place between Dec 2 and Dec 13 under the presidency of Chile's Environment Minister Carolina Schmidt with logistical support from the Spanish government.

Hasina is set to attend the inauguration ceremony of COP25 at Feria De Madrid on Monday.

She will later take part in the working session of COP25 before holding a bilateral meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Hasina will rejoin the working session in the evening after which she is likely to sit for talks with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

The Bangladesh leader will then join a reception at the royal palace in the evening hosted by the king and queen of Spain.

COP25 was scheduled to begin in November in Brazil but the Brazilian government withdrew from hosting it due to financial constraints.

Chile subsequently decided to host the conference but it too had to back out as severe anti-government protests erupted in the country. The venue was later changed to Madrid following an understanding between the United Nations, Chile and Spain.

Bangladesh is one of the countries confronting the adverse effects of climate change. It plays a major role in the global discussion on the issue.

The affected countries will unanimously demand compensation for the consequences of climate change on them during the COP 25 conference, said Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Shahab Uddin.

Hasina will return home on Wednesday.