Sri Lankan PM arrives in Dhaka
He will join the celebrations of 50 years of independence and the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has reached Dhaka this morning on a two-day visit.
A special flight of the Sri Lankan Airlines carrying Rajapaksa and his entourage members landed at around 9:45am at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina received her Sri Lankan counterpart at the airport.
He will join the celebrations of 50 years of independence and the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Mahinda Rajapaksa will pay homage to the martyrs of the great Liberation War of 1971 at the National Martyrs' Memorial in Savar.
The Sri Lankan prime minister will also attend a programme at 4.30pm on Friday at the Parade Ground.
In the evening he will attend a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in his honour at the InterContinental Dhaka hotel.
On Saturday, the Sri Lankan prime minister will visit the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum and pay homage to the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will have a meeting with Mahinda Rajapaksa on the same day. They will talk about bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, agriculture, education and information technology.
"A significant number of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) are expected to be signed at the end of the meeting," said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen.
Mahinda Rajapaksa will pay a courtesy call on President Abdul Hamid on Saturday afternoon and leave Dhaka for Colombo in the evening.
A 28-member delegation including the minister of education, the state minister for regional cooperation, the state minister for weaving and textiles, the state minister for rural housing and housing materials, the state minister for finance and senior government officials will accompany the prime minister of Sri Lanka during the visit.