Prime Minister Tarique Rahman arrived in the Chinese city of Dalian on Monday night, beginning the China leg of his first official overseas tour since assuming office.
A special flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the Prime Minister and his spouse, Dr. Zubaida Rahman, landed at Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport at 11:05 pm local time.
The Bangladeshi premier and his spouse were received at the airport by Liaoning Province Vice Governor Bai Ying, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen and Bangladesh Ambassador to China Md. Nazmul Islam.
A red carpet was rolled out in honour of the Prime Minister upon his arrival.
From the airport, Tarique Rahman was taken to the Shangri-La Hotel in a ceremonial motorcade, where he will stay during his two-day visit to Dalian.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to attend several high-profile events in Dalian before travelling to Beijing for the main part of his official visit to China.
As part of his programme, he will participate in the 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, widely known as the Summer Davos Forum, organised by the World Economic Forum.
According to the schedule, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the World Economic Forum will meet Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Shangri-La Hotel on Tuesday morning.
Later in the afternoon, the Prime Minister will deliver a speech at a session titled “Climate Leadership in a Shifting Global Landscape” at the Dalian International Conference Center.
He is also expected to attend several other events during the forum.
In the evening, Chinese Premier Li Qiang will host a banquet in honour of participating leaders and guests, which Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is scheduled to attend.
On June 24, the Prime Minister is expected to hold a meeting with the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan before taking part in additional engagements.
He will then travel to Beijing by high-speed train later in the day.
Officials described the visit as particularly significant as Bangladesh and China enter what both countries have termed the “Golden 50 Years” of diplomatic relations.
They said the visit is expected to strengthen bilateral cooperation and help shape the future direction of Bangladesh-China relations in areas such as trade, investment, infrastructure, technology and development cooperation.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is scheduled to return to Bangladesh on June 26, concluding his first official foreign tour since assuming office on February 17.
Before arriving in China, the Prime Minister completed a two-day official visit to Malaysia, where he held bilateral talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and witnessed the signing of one memorandum of understanding and two other bilateral instruments.
