PM leaves Kathmandu for home

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today left Kathmandu for home concluding her two-day official visit to Nepal to attend the 4th Summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), BSS reported.

A Biman Bangladesh Airlines VVIP flight carrying the premier and her entourage members left Tribhuvan International Airport at 1:10 pm (local time).

Nepalese Deputy Prime Minister Ishwor Pokharel and Bangladesh Ambassador in Kathmandu Mashfee Binte Shams saw the prime minister off at the airport.

Before leaving Kathmandu, the prime minister along with the heads of government of the seven-nation regional group joined the retreat session and closing ceremony of the Summit.

Addressing the BIMSTEC Summit yesterday, the prime minister called for expanding cooperation in BIMSTEC forum through the creation of a free trade area, investment and energy collaboration, enhancing people-to-people contact and funding mechanism.

On the sidelines of the summit, she held meetings with her Indian and Nepalese counterparts Narendra Modi and KP Sharma Oli.

Sheikh Hasina along with other BIMSTEC leaders made a courtesy call on Nepalese President Bidya Devi Bhandari.

BIMSTEC, a sub-regional organization, came into being on June 6, 1997. It comprises five South Asian states of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka and two Southeast Asian ones- Myanmar and Thailand.