Kuwait emir arrives today

Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah arrives in Dhaka today on a two-day visit.

Acting President Jamiruddin Sircar and Prime Minister Khaleda Zia will receive the monarch at Zia International Airport.

He will be leading a high level delegation that includes the deputy prime minister, the foreign minister, the energy minister and the finance minister of Kuwait, a press release of the foreign ministry said yesterday.

A big business delegation will also accompany the emir.

The emir will arrive in Dhaka on the first leg of his four-nation tour that will also take him to Thailand, India and Pakistan.

Official talks between the emir and Prime Minister Khaleda Zia will be held at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) tomorrow. The prime minister will host a banquet in honour of the emir today.

The Kuwaiti Emir will have a meeting with Acting President Jamiruddin Sircar at the Bangabhaban tomorrow. After the meeting, the acting president will host a luncheon in honour of the emir.

"The emir's visit is very significant in our bilateral relations as it takes place almost within a month of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's visit to Kuwait," Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan told the UNB.

During Khaleda's visit to Kuwait May 7-8, the leadership of the oil-rich Gulf country agreed to withdraw the ban on recruitment of workers from Bangladesh and to sell Kuwaiti oil on credit at reasonable prices.

The foreign minister reiterated his appeal to the opposition political parties to withdraw their Dhaka siege programme that coincides with the emir's visit.