PM flies to London en route to New York

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka for London en route to New York on a weeklong official visit to the United States to join the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the Prime Minister departed Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 10:20 am (BST) for London, UK.

The flight is scheduled to reach Heathrow Airport in London at 3:55pm (local time) on the same day. Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK Nazmul Qaunine will receive the Prime Minister at the airport.

After a two-day stopover in London, she will leave for New York on Sunday morning by a British Airways flight. The flight is scheduled to reach Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey at 1:40pm (local time).

Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA Mohammad Ziauddin and Bangladesh permanent representative to the UN Masud Bin Momen will receive her at the airport.

After the reception at the airport, a ceremonial motorcade will escort the Prime Minister to Hotel Grand Hyatt New York, where she will stay during her visit to the USA.

She will address the UNGA at the UN Headquarters, as usual in Bangla, on September 27 placing fresh specific proposals for sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis, said Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali at a briefing here on Thursday.

Sheikh Hasina also will have a meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on the same day.

On the sidelines of the UNGA, the Prime Minister will also sit in bilateral meetings with a number of world leaders, including Estonian president KerstiKaljulaid and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

She will attend a reception to be hosted by US President Donald Trump.

Hasina will receive International Achievement Award from the Inter Press Service News Agency, and Special Recognition for Outstanding Leadership Award from the Global Hope Coalition for her farsighted and wise leadership over the Rohingya issue on September 27, the minister said.

On the first day of her visit to the USA, Sheikh Hasina will attend a reception to be accorded to her by the Bangladeshi community in the United States at Hotel New York Hilton Midtown in the evening.

On the second day, the Prime Minister will attend a high-level event on Global Call to Action on World Drug Problem, to be arranged by the permanent mission of the United States to the UN at the UN Headquarters.

She will take part in a group photo prior to statements by UN secretary general Antonio Guterres and US President Donald Trump.

The Prime Minister will later join the high-level event on the Global Compact on Refugees: A Model for Greater Solidarity and Cooperation, to be organised by the UN high commissioner for Refugees at ECOSOC Chamber at the UNHQ.

Sheikh Hasina will hold a meeting with her Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte at the bilateral meeting booth, UNHQ.

The Prime Minister will attend a luncheon roundtable meeting to be organised by the US Chamber of Commerce at Hotel Grant Hyatt New York.

In the afternoon, she is scheduled to address the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit at the General Assembly Hall.

She will attend the Sustainable Development Impact Summit in New York, to be organised by the World Economic Forum at Convene Conference Centre in New York.

Hasina will attend a roundtable discussion on Investment for Education of Women and Girls, convened by the Prime Minister of Canada at the conference room 11 of UNHQ.

She will join a high-level event titled Making Impossible Possible: Unlocking Human Potential through the International Finance Facility for Education to be organised by the UN Special Envoy for Global Education at the UNHQ.

In the evening, the Prime Minister will attend a reception to be hosted by Donald Trump at Lotte New York Palace Hotel.

On September 25, Hasina will join a high-level side-event on Cyber Security and International Cooperation, to be organised by the permanent mission of Bangladesh and UN Office on Disarmament Affairs in the UNHQ.

She will attend an official luncheon to be hosted by the UN Secretary General at the General Assembly Building.

In the afternoon, she will join the UN Secretary General's high-level event on Action for Peacekeeping at the UNHQ.

On September 26, Unicef executive director Henrietta Fore, UN high commissioner for refugees FilippoGrandi and high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy Federica Mogherini will separately meet the Prime Minister at the UNHQ.

The Prime Minister will have a meeting with Estonian president KerstiKaljulaid at the same place.

On September 27, Hasina will attend a high-level side-event on the Situation of Rohingya Minority in Myanmar, to be organised by the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia and the OIC Secretariat in the UNHQ.

She will have a meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the secretary general's meeting room, UNHQ, while President of International Committee of the Red Cross Peter Maurer will call on the Prime Minister at the bilateral meeting booth, UNHQ.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to meet Sheikh Hasina on the same day.

The Prime Minister will attend a high-level discussion on Economic Growth through Women's Empowerment to be hosted by the President of Lithuania at the UNHQ and expected to join a reception accorded by the Inter-Press Service at UNHQ.

She will address the 73rd UNGA in the evening and join the Annual Dinner of the Global Hope Coalition at Park Avenue, New York.

On September 28, Hasina will address a press briefing at the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh in New York.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to return home on October 1 after a stopover in London.