Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to have her first foreign trip to Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference.
During the trip, she is expected to have bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other foreign dignitaries.
So far, about 25 heads of state and government and about 70 foreign and defence ministers confirmed their participations in the conference to be held from Feb 15-17.
“The prime minister attended the conference in 2017 and if everything goes right, she will also attend this year,” said a foreign ministry official.
Bangladesh has a new government and it will be a good opportunity for the prime minister to meet many foreign dignitaries under one roof, said another official.
“The prime minister had a very fruitful bilateral meeting with Merkel and we expect it will happen this time,” added the official.
Another official said that the Munich conference will be “a good opportunity” for Bangladesh to present Rohingya case to global leaders.
Berlin is very supportive about Rohingya crisis and Dhaka will discuss the issues with a number of leaders there, he added.
UAE IDEX 2019
The foreign ministry is negotiating with the United Arab Emirates about the prime minister’s visit to the kingdom country.
An official said, “There is a standing invitation for the prime minister to attend UAE International Defence Exhibition and Conference and we want to have bilateral components in the visit.”
The IDEX will be held from Feb 17 to 19.
In the UAE visit, labour and economic cooperation will be the major focus of Bangladesh, he said.
“We have robust investment engagement with Saudi Arabia and we want to replicate it the UAE,” he said.
Dhaka and Riyadh have recently signed five memorandum of understanding in power, investment and economic cooperation sectors.