President to lead Bangladesh contingent at ASEAN Summit

President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Monday will leave for Jakarta, Indonesia to attend the 43rd ASEAN Summit and 18th East Asia Summit to be held on 5-7 September.

A regular aircraft of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, carrying the President along with his spouse Prof Dr Rebecca Sultana and other entourage members, is scheduled to depart from Hazrat Shahjalal (R.) International Airport (HSIA) for Jakarta at 8:30 am.

Chairperson of Bangladesh National Advisory Committee on Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Saima Wazed and Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen will also accompany the president during the visit.

At the invitation of the President of the Republic of Indonesia and ASEAN Chair for 2023 Joko Widodo, Press secretary Joynal Abedin said the Bangladesh president will attend the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit and the East Asia Summit at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC).

The summit will be held under the theme "Asean Matters: Epicentrum of Growth".

On the sidelines of the ASEAN summit, the president will also attend the 'East Asia Summit' slated for 7 September.

He will deliver the concluding speech on "Strengthening Regional Architecture to Support the Epicentrum of Growth from the Perspective of IORA" as the "Guest of Chair".

He will also hold separate bilateral meetings with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo and state leaders of Thailand, Malaysia and Timor-Leste.

On September 6, the President will attend a 'Gala Dinner' to be hosted by the Indonesian president at Hutan Kota Gelora Bung Karno.

Joko Widodo will chair 12 meetings during the 43rd ASEAN Summit. The ASEAN is an intergovernmental organisation of 11 Southeast Asian countries - Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Timor Leste or East Timor. The ASEAN Summit is a biannual meeting held by its members.

The Indonesian President will also chair the 18th East Asia Summit (EAS), which consists of 18 members, including the 10 ASEAN countries, the United States, the Russian Federation, New Zealand, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and India, according to the ASEAN secretariat.

The leaders of the Pacific Island Forum, the Prime Minister of Canada, the Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank (World Bank) are also reportedly planning to attend the ASEAN Summit.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen said, apart from discussions on bilateral cooperation on different sectors, two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) on energy and health collaboration between Bangladesh and Indonesia are likely to be signed during the visit of President Mohammed Shahabuddin.

Winding up the ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit, President Shahabuddin along with his spouse will leave Jakarta for Singapore for a health check up.

The president is expected to return home from Singapore on September 16, according to the revised schedule.