Chinese President Xi arrives in Dhaka

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Dhaka this morning on a historic state visit amid a high hope in Bangladesh that it will steer a ‘historic new journey’ towards opening up a ‘new horizon’ in relations between the two countries.

A special aircraft of Air China carrying the Chinese president and his entourage landed at the VVIP terminal at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 11:36am.

President Md Abdul Hamid received him at the airport with 21-gun salute. Xi was escorted by four aircrafts of Air Force in Bangladesh sky. A red carpet was also rolled out to receive Xi Jinping.

Xi Jinping moved to the saluting dais accompanied by his Bangladesh counterpart, and received guard of honor and inspected the guard.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Public Administration Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, Planning Minister AHM Mostafa Kamal, Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Dr Gowher Rizvi, the chiefs of the three services and State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam were present at the presentation line.

 

A 13-member high power delegation including Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei, Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng, Governor of the People’s Bank of China Zhou Xiaochuan, accompanied the Chinese President.

PROGRAMME SCHEDULE

Xi left the airport at 12:03pm for Hotel Le Meridien, where he will stay.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will receive the Chinese president at the Prime Minister's Office where they will hold a tete-a-tete from 3:00pm to 3:10pm.

Then the two sides will hold delegation-level talks from 3:10pm to 4:00pm where the Chinese president and the Bangladesh PM will lead their sides.

The talks will be followed by signing of agreements and MoUs.

The two leaders will then make press statements at 4:10pm.

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury will call on the Chinese president at Le Meridien at 4:35pm for a 20-minute meeting.

According to diplomatic and BNP sources, Khaleda Zia will call on Xi around 5:00pm at the hotel.

After the meetings, the Chinese president will go to the Bangabhaban to meet his Bangladesh counterpart Abdul Hamid at 6:30pm.

He will attend a state banquet to be hosted by the Bangladesh president from 7:00pm-8:30pm.

On Saturday, Xi will leave the hotel for the National Memorial in Savar at 8:20am.

Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq and the General Commanding Officer of the 9th infantry division will receive him there at 8:55am.

The Chinese president will lay a wreath there in memory of the 1971 war martyrs, sign the visitors' book and plant a sapling.

He will reach the airport straight from Savar and leave for Goa, India, at 10:00am tomorrow by the special VVIP flight.

Sheikh Hasina will see him off at the airport.