PM accorded rousing reception at Mongolia

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was accorded a red carpet reception as she arrived in Mongolia on Thursday on a three-day official visit to attend the 11th Asia-Europe Summit (ASEM). The two-day summit begins on Friday at Shangri-La Hotel in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar. Bangladesh Ambassador to Mongolia Fazlul Karim and Chief of Staff of the President of Mongolia and the Ambassador at Large P Tsagaan received the prime minister, and later she was given a static guard of honour by the Mongolian armed forces. Hasina will attend the inaugural session of the summit on Friday, where she will be received by Mongolian President Tskhiazin Elbegdorj at the summit venue. During the summit, Hasina and her Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe will co-chair a special discussion to be presented by other global leaders. She will also hold meetings with Swiss President Johan Schneider, Russian Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev, Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister of Italy Paolo Gentiloni on Friday. On Saturday, she will have meetings with Myanmar President Htin Kyaw, Indian Vice-President Hamid Ansari, President of European Council Donald Tusk and President of European Commission Jean Claude Junker. In the meeting with the world leaders, Hasina is likely to highlight the country's security situation and the government's firm commitment to tackle terrorism and extremism in the aftermath of two recent terror attacks in Bangladesh. The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is an informal process of dialogue and cooperation bringing together 53 members, including the 28 European Union member states, two other European countries, and the European Union with 21 Asian countries and the ASEAN Secretariat. The exclusively Asian-European forum was officially established on March 1, 1996 at the first summit in Bangkok, Thailand. Bangladesh joined the forum in 2012.