PM to speak of Dhaka's anti-terror commitment at Asia-Europe meet
Leaves for Mongolia tomorrow
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is going to highlight Bangladesh's “strong commitment” to fighting its battle against terrorism during the July 15-16 Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit in Mongolia.
Hasina is scheduled to leave for Mongolia tomorrow to attend the 11th ASEM Summit, which would issue a clear message to the international community that terrorism could never be tolerated.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the premier is scheduled to meet about a dozen global leaders including Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, President of the Council of Ministers of Italy Matteo Renzi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj and Myanmar President Htin Kyaw.
During her bilateral meetings with the Asian and European leaders, Hasina would raise the July 1 and 7 terror attacks in Bangladesh and brief her counterparts and global leaders about Bangladesh's security situation both in local and global contexts, diplomatic sources said.
She would also inform them how her government has successfully quelled the attacks and her government's initiatives to prevent any such attacks in future as well as initiatives to battle terrorism and violent extremism.
The PM would try to address the concerns of her Japanese and Italian counterparts as citizens of the two countries fell victim to the July 1 attack. Coincidentally, a Japanese and an Italian citizens were also killed in Dhaka and Rangpur last year.
Dhaka has repeatedly said citizens of the two countries are not target in Bangladesh, but they fell victims to terror attacks in Bangladesh.
Hasina in her meetings with the global leaders would apprise them of Dhaka's comprehensive security measures taken for the safety and security of foreign diplomats, foreigners living in Bangladesh and diplomatic facilities.
Following the July 1 attack in Dhaka in which nine Italian and seven Japanese nationals were killed, summit leaders of Japan and Italy confirmed that counterterrorism measures would be taken up as an important topic at the ASEM meet and that the ASEM would issue a clear message of the international community that terrorism could never be tolerated.
Shinzo Abe and Matteo Renzi also shared the view that Japan and Italy would closely work together to lead international counterterrorism efforts as this year's and next year's G7 chairs on the basis of the outcomes of the G7 Ise-Shima Summit.
As per the programme schedule, Hasina would leave Dhaka for Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, at 11:00am tomorrow and return home on the evening of July 16.
The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is an informal process of dialogue and cooperation bringing together 53 members, including the 28 European Union member states, two other European countries, and the European Union with 21 Asian countries and the Asean Secretariat.
The ASEM dialogue addresses political, economic and cultural issues, with the objective of strengthening relations between the two regions in a spirit of mutual respect and equal partnership.