International

Kerry leaves for New Delhi

US Secretary of State John Forbes Kerry leaves Dhaka for New Delhi wrapping up his nine-hour whirlwind visit to Bangladesh.State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam saw Kerry off at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 5.30 pm, reports BSS.Earlier, the US Secretary of State arrived here from Geneva this morning when Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali received him at the VVIP terminal of the airport with flower bouquet.Kerry began his Dhaka tour paying homage to the memory of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at 11.42 am by placing wreaths on the portrait of Bangabandhu at Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Dhanmondi-32 in the capital.Later, he met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and held a bilateral meeting with senior ministers including Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali.He met youngsters and civil society members at Edward Kennedy Centre (EMK) at MIDAS Centre in the city’s Dhanmondi area where he also held a meeting with leader of the opposition in parliament Raushan Ershad.BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia called on the US Secretary of State at US Chancery Complex at the city’s Baridhara this afternoon.In New Delhi, he will hold meetings with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minister of State for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Seetaraman and other government officials.John Forbes Kerry, an American diplomat and Democratic Party politician was sworn in as the 68th Secretary of State of the United States on February 1, 2013.He joined the State Department after 28 years in the United States Senate, the last four as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.