A Correspondent:
Beijing: A red carpet was rolled out as Prime Minister Tarique Rahman arrived in Beijing from Dalian by a bullet train yesterday after participating at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Dalian City of China.
He accompanied by his spouse Dr Zubaida Rahman reached Beijing Chaoyang Railway Station at 5.35pm local time yesterday.
Ms. Sun Meijun, Minister and Secretary of Communist Party of China (CPC) Committee of the General Administration of Customs of China received Tarique Rahman at the railway station.
Tiny tots presented bouquets to the prime minister and his spouse. The premier was also accorded with a static guard of honor and a ceremonial welcome.
From Chaoyang Railway Station the Prime Minister and member of his entourage was taken to Diaoyu-tai state guest house in a ceremonial motorcade.
Earlier, Tarique Rahman left for Beijing by a high speed bullet train from Dalian North Railway Station at 1:58 pm local time.
The prime minister’s entourage includes Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman, State Minister for Pow-er, Energy and Mineral Resources Aninda Islam Amit, PM’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Humaiun Kobir, Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Adviser Mahdi Amin and Defence Adviser Brigadier General (retd) Dr AKM Shamsul Islam.
Earlier yesterday, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman attended the plenary session of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Dalian at the Dalian International Conference Center with WEF President and CEO Alois Zwingli in the chair.
Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang, South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, Mongolian Prime Minister Nyam-Osoryn Uchral, Montenegro Prime Minister Milojko Spajic and Guinean Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah also attended the session.
Over 1,700 government representatives, policymakers, businesspeople, and technology entrepreneurs from more than 90 countries participated in the conference.
Tarique Rahman arrived in Dalian on Monday from Kula Lumpur, Malaysia in the second leg of his first overseas visit.
As China and Bangladesh enter the next phase of their diplomatic relation-the “Golden 50 Years, the premier’s maiden visit to China comes at a significant moment, officials said.
The visit carries historic importance in maintaining the continuity of past achievements and help shaping the future course of bilateral relations, they said.
On June 23, Tarique Rahman delivered speech at a WEF session titled “Climate Leadership in a Shifting Global Landscape” at Dalian International Conference Centre where he explained his government’s steps to address the climate change challenges.
He called upon the international community to prioritise three issues – operationalising the Loss and Damage Fund, making climate finance more accessible and adaptation alongside mitigation- to offset the adverse impacts of climate change.
The premier also urged the leaders around the world to deliver on their commitments for the millions whose lives are at stake due to climate change.
On the conference sidelines, WEF president Alois Zwinggi called on Bangladesh premier when they had extensive discussion on investment attraction, job creation and development of the country.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman left Dhaka for Malaysia on a two-day official visit on June 21. During his two-day stay in Kuala Lumpur he held one-to-one meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
One MoU and two other instruments were signed after high level talks between the delegations of the two countries.
The meeting focused on establishing greater cooperation between the two countries in various fields, including trade and investment expansion, energy cooperation, halal economy, workforce recruitment and deployment, semiconductor industry, agriculture, education, and people-to-people contacts.
Tarique Rahman is scheduled to return home on June 26, wrapping up his first official overseas tour.
