PM leaves for Saudi Arabia

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka for Riyadh tonight on a four-day official visit to Saudi Arabia to attend the Arab Islamic American Summit at the invitation of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the prime minister and her entourage took off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 8:10 pm.

The flight is scheduled to reach King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital at 11:15 pm (local time) the same day.

Bangladesh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Golam Moshi will receive Sheikh Hasina at the airport.

From the airport, a ceremonial motorcade will escort her to Movenpick Hotel Riyadh where she will be staying for two days.

The summit, to be attended by US President Donald Trump and leaders of the member countries of the 41-nation Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT), is expected to cover issues of counter-terrorism and violent extremism.

During the visit, the prime minister will perform Umrah at the Haram Sharif in Makkah and offer ziarat at the Rawza Mubarak of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) in Medina.

On May 21, the prime minister will attend the summit to be held at King Abdulaziz International Conference Centre in Riyadh.

She will also join the inauguration of 'Global Centre for Combating Extremist Thought' and attend the lunch to be hosted by the Saudi King, also the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

The Prime Minister will return home on May 23.