Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has postponed her two-day official visit to Japan amid a global outbreak of novel coronavirus, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said yesterday.

"The prime minister was scheduled to leave for Japan on March 30, but her visit has been postponed as the coronavirus has spread there also," he said.

The minister was talking to journalists after holding a meeting of the sub-committee on "international activities and communication" for the celebration of the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the capital's International Mother Language Institute.

Earlier, the March 17 grand inaugural ceremony of Bangabandhu's birth centenary celebrations was postponed following the detection of three coronavirus cases in the country.

The foreign minister also said two programmes, including a special parliament session, scheduled to be attended by foreign dignitaries later this month, were deferred, reports BSS.

The parliament session was scheduled to be held on March 22-23 and the other programme on March 27.

Momen said Dhaka conveyed the foreign dignitaries, who were scheduled to join the opening of the Mujib Year celebrations, about the revised plan for the inauguration.

"Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has sent letters to the heads of state and government informing them about the rearrangement plan of Mujib Year celebrations."

In her letter, the PM said Bangladesh would like to hold the mega event of the yearlong celebration of Mujib Year later on, so the foreign dignitaries could take their decisions about their scheduled visits, he added.

The minister said they were discouraging other foreign guests to visit Bangladesh now. He, however, expected that the invited foreign dignitaries would join the celebrations any time during the Mujib Year (from March 2020 to March 2021).

Momen said the festivity of the grand opening of the Mujib Year on March 17 was scaled down as per the PM's directives.