President off to Geneva to attend investment summit

Gb news24 desk//

President M Abdul Hamid left Dhaka early today for Geneva on a five-day official visit to Switzerland to join the summit of the ‘World Investment Forum 2018’.

Finance minister AMA Muhith, industries minister Amir Hossain Amu, dean of diplomatic crops Swiss Ambassador in Dhaka, chiefs of three services, principle secretary and other high civil and military officials saw the President off at the VVIP Lounge of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA).

“An aircraft of Emirates Airline carrying the President and members of his entourage took off from Hazrat Shahjalal (R) International Airport at around 1:40am today,” President’s deputy press secretary Abul Kalam Azad confirmed the BSS.

The five-day summit will be held on October 22-26 at Palais des Nations in Geneva, the United Nations Headquarters in Europe and a global hub for diplomacy and banking, under the theme “Investing in Sustainable Development”.

The flight, on his way to Geneva, is scheduled to reach Dubai International Airport at 4:30 am (local time) on Monday. The President will make a 10-and- a-half-hour stopover in Dubai, he said.

Later, the President will be flown by another aircraft to reach Cointrin Airport, Geneva, at 7:50 pm (local time)
Bangladesh Ambassador to Switzerland and Permanent Representative to the UN Office Shameem Ahsan and representatives from the Cantonal Government of Geneva and United Nations Office of Geneva (UNOG) are expected to receive the President at the airport.

From the airport, the President, in a ceremonial motorcade, would be escorted to Grand Hotel Kempinski where he will be staying during his visit.

A foreign ministry source said the investment summit convenes heads of state and government, ministers and CEOs of global companies to share their vision for the future. It will focus on global challenges for international investment in the new era of globalization and industrialization.

The World Investment Forum biennially gathers more than 4,000 investment stakeholders from 160 countries, he added.

The 2018 Forum consists of over fifty events, including the Grand Opening, the Global Leaders Investment Summit, the Global Investment Game Changers Summit, ministerial round-tables, conferences, private sector-led sessions, Ted-style presentations, high-profile stakeholder round-tables, networking events, award ceremonies and an Investment Village, he added.

On the sidelines, President Hamid is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with leaders of different countries.
The President is scheduled to return home on October 26.