Shawdesh Desk:

A red carpet was rolled out as prime minister Sheikh Hasina arrived in Bangkok on Wednesday afternoon on a six-day official visit to Thailand at the invitation of her Thai counterpart Srettha Thavisin.

On her arrival at Don Mueang International Airport, Bangkok at 1:08pm (local time), the PM was received by Thai deputy prime minister and minister of interior Anutin Charnvirakul.

She was given a static guard of honour and a 19-round gun salute at the airport.

Thailand minister-in-attendance Puangpet Chunlaiad, Thai ambassador to Bangladesh Makawadee Sumitmor and Bangladesh ambassador to Thailand Mohammed Abdul Hye were present at the airport.

Earlier, the Bangladesh PM left Dhaka by a flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines at 10:13am on the six-day tour, which is both a bilateral and multilateral visit.

The bilateral visit of the prime minister will be the first-ever visit at the level of head of government from Bangladesh to Thailand since establishment of diplomatic relations in 1972.

During her visit in April 24-29, the Bangladesh PM will hold bilateral talks with PM Thavisin and also attend the 80th Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

Bangladesh and Thailand will sign a number of cooperation documents including a letter of intent on negotiations for a free trade agreement between the two countries.

‘Bangladesh and Thailand are likely to sign an agreement on visa exemption for official passport holders, a Memorandum of Understanding on energy cooperation while two more MoUs on tourism sector cooperation and duty related mutual cooperation to expand the relations,’ said foreign minister Hasan Mahmud at a media briefing on Monday.

Bangladesh would seek support from Thailand regarding Rohingya repatriation as well as increased investment from Thailand, he said, adding that the issue of shipping connectivity would also be discussed.

On April 26, PM Hasina will be formally received by her Thai host Srettha Thavisin while a ceremonial guard of honor will be accorded to her.

On the same day, the Bangladesh PM will hold bilateral talks with PM Thavisin at the Government House following a tete-a-tete between the two leaders, witness the signing of the documents, participate in a joint press conference and then attend a state lunch to be hosted by her Thai counterpart in her honour there.

During the visit, the prime minister will have a Royal audience of Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua and Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshan, king and queen of the Kingdom of Thailand at the palace.

In her multilateral engagement, PM Hasina is scheduled to attend the 80th Session of ESCAP and deliver a speech there on April 25.

On the same day, the under-secretary-general of the United Nations and ESCAP executive secretary Armida Salsiah Alisjabana will call on the prime minister.

Guided by the theme — Leveraging digital innovation for sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific — the eightieth session will be an opportunity to strengthen region-wide cooperative action on leveraging digital innovation for the accelerated implementation of the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development.

The session will bring together government leaders and ministers from across Asia and the Pacific and other key stakeholders to discuss how digital innovation can more inclusively contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals across multiple disciplines.