Ahead of the meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina the UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was told by his mother not to say no to the Bangladeshi leader, say foreign ministry officials.

“Her Excellency, my mother sent me a message not to say no to you,” is what a smiling Nahyan told Hasina before the Feb 17 meeting at the Al Bahr Palace.

Just before the bilateral meeting, Hasina attended a lunch hosted by Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak or popularly known as ‘mother of sheikhs’ and both of them discussed about women empowerment and development.

Hasina went to the Gulf country on Feb 17 and had meetings with UAE Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and other senior ministers.

“It is a rare honour the prime minister received at the United Arab Emirates,” said an official who accompanied her.

It’s not grand state treatment but some gestures which showed the royal warmth, he said.

After the meeting, the crown prince took her to his Darbar or Majlish where all the cabinet members and elite of the society were present.

Another official said, “Bangladesh Ambassador there is posted for couple of years and he told us that he did not see such a gesture extended to any non-Arab head of state or government in his tenure.”

The prime minister attended IDEX (International Defence Exhibition) at Abu Dhabi on Feb 17 and she was seated next to the UAE premier, he added.

On that day UAE Economic Minister Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori requested a meeting with the prime minister and they had very fruitful talks about future economic cooperation.

Dhaka and Abu Dhabi signed four memoranda of understanding (MoUs) on establishing a port, industrial park, supply and setting up an LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal, power plants, and a special economic zone in Bangladesh.