PM arrives in Istanbul en route to Dhaka

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Thursday arrived in Istanbul on the way home to Dhaka, wrapping up his three-day official visit to Turkiye to attend the COP31 World Leaders' Summit.

“A Turkish Airlines flight carrying the prime minister, his wife Zubaida Rahman and members of his entourage landed at Istanbul Airport at 6:30pm this evening,” said PM’s Deputy Press Secretary Hasan Shiplu.

After a stopover in Istanbul, the prime minister is scheduled to leave for Dhaka on another Turkish Airlines flight at 7:30pm local time. The flight is expected to land at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 6am (Bangladesh time) on Friday. 

Ambassador Subutay Yuksel, a senior official of Türkiye's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saw the prime minister off at Antalya Airport from where he departed at 4:30pm local time. 

During his three-day visit, Tarique attended the COP31 World Leaders’ Summit, addressed its High-Level Segment and participated in several important programmes. 

He also visited the Bangladesh pavilion and the Green Zone of the conference, where environment-friendly jute products were displayed.

On the sidelines of the summit, the prime minister held bilateral meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and UK Foreign Secretary Edward Miliband.

He also held courtesy calls with the presidents of Brazil, the Maldives, Iran, Syria and Somalia, and the prime ministers of Moldova, Pakistan and Kuwait. Other engagements included meetings with the secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the mayor of London and representatives of international organisations.

The meetings focused on strengthening bilateral relations, expanding trade and investment, addressing climate change, enhancing diplomatic cooperation and finding a sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis.

Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman attended a dinner hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and First Lady Emine Erdogan in honour of world leaders attending COP31, while Zubaida also attended a luncheon hosted by Emine Erdogan for spouses of heads of state and government and distinguished guests in Antalya.

During the conference, Zubaida attended a side event on zero-waste management, where she highlighted the government's policy initiatives to turn waste into resources and energy and stressed the need for technical cooperation.