PM to visit Munich on February 16-18

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be visiting Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference to be held on February 16-18.

This will be her first foreign visit after she assumed the office for the fifth time following the January 7 elections.

“The prime minister has decided to attend the Munich conference. The discussions on bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the conference are underway,” Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud told journalists yesterday.

The Munich Security Conference 2024 will offer unique opportunity for high-level debates on the world’s most pressing security challenges.

Additionally, the conference will celebrate its 60th anniversary up to and during the next main conference that will be an assembly of senior decision-makers and thought-leaders from around the world for discussions on the most pressing international security concerns in February 2024.

The conference takes place at a time when there are a number of crises affecting the global economy, including the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel-Palestine war, which has serious implications for Bangladesh as well.

Foreign ministry officials said the Bangladesh mission in Germany is trying to arrange a number of bilateral meetings including with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Union President Ursula von der Leyen.

With the wars in Europe and Middle East, the economic crisis has gripped many of the countries. The government is also struggling to keep the foreign currency reserve healthy.

Again, with the graduation out of LDC by 2026, Bangladesh will be entering new trade regime where duty-free access will not be as it has been so long. Bangladesh needs more investment and its export basket widened, said a foreign ministry official.

As Europe is a major destination of Bangladesh’s exports, as well as development partner, Prime Minister Hasina will be calling on the European leaders to invest in Bangladesh and continue the trade privileges, he said.

At the same time, the official said, “Prime Minister will be calling for the world leaders to end the wars and solve any conflicts through dialogue.”