PM in Montreal to attend GF confce

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina arrived in Montreal on Thursday afternoon on a four-day official visit to Canada at the invitation of her Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau to attend the Fifth Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund.
Canada is hosting the conference to work out ways to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria on September 16-17.
An Air Canada flight carrying the prime minister and her entourage landed at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Montreal at 4.22 pm (local time).
Bangladesh high commissioner in Ottawa Mizanur Rahman received Sheikh Hasina at the airport, while senior officials of the Canadian foreign ministry were present.
After the reception at the airport, Hasina was escorted by a ceremonial motorcade to Hotel Omni Mont-Royal, Montreal where she would be staying during her visit to Canada.
The prime minister is expected to hand over the posthumous ‘Friends of Liberation War Honour’ award to Justin Pierre Trudeau. The Bangladesh government awarded the honour to Pierre Trudeau, the then PM of Canada, for his outstanding support for and contributions to the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971.
She will attend the opening session of the replenishment conference to be held at Hyatt Regency Montreal. Hasina will later join the Ministerial Pledging Moment and official reception of the conference with other heads of state and government at the same hotel in the afternoon.
Hasina will also attend the official dinner to be hoisted by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon and Justin Trudeau at Hyatt Regency Montreal.
On September 17, she would join the opening of the day two of the conference along with the Canadian PM and Global Fund executive director Mark Dybal.
On the same day, Hasina will attend the panel discussion-1 titled ‘Removing Barriers to Health through Empowering Women and Girls and Reaching the Most Marginalised’ and the Panel Discussion 2 titled ‘Engaging and Mobilising Youth to meet the Sustainable Development Goals’.
The prime minister will join the official lunch to be hosted jointly by the Canadian prime minister and governor general of Canada Rt Hon David Johnston.
She will later attend the closing session of the conference. The Bangladesh prime minister will hold a bilateral meeting with Trudeau. Hasina will also enjoy a concert along with other heads of state and government to be organised by Global Fund and Global Citizen.
Liberation war affairs minister AKM Mozammel Haque and foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali are, among others, accompanying the prime minister in her Canada tour.
On September 18, Sheikh Hasina will leave Montreal for New York by an Air Canada flight at 1:40pm (local time) to join the 71st session of the UNGA. The flight is scheduled to reach La Guardia Airport, New York at 3:00pm (local time).
Bangladesh ambassador to the USA Mohammad Ziauddin and Bangladesh ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN Masud Bin Momen will welcome her at the airport.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net