Hasina joins G7 outreach session in Canada

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has joined the Outreach Session of the G7 Summit in Canada.

Sumon Mahbub from Quebecbdnews24.com
Published : 9 June 2018, 05:45 PM
Updated : 11 June 2018, 07:04 PM

Her Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau welcomed her when she reached the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu hotel at La Malbaie in Quebec on Saturday noon local time.

They exchanged greetings and took part in a formal photo session.

Hasina flew to Canada on Friday and is staying at the hotel Chateau Forntenac in Quebec.

She earlier attended G7 outreach sessions in Japan in 2016 and in Italy in 2001.

The prime minister will hold a meeting with Trudeau on Sunday.

She will return to Toronto and meet the Bangladesh expatriates there the same day.

Before starting for Dhaka on Monday afternoon, the prime minister will meet Canada’s Special Envoy to Myanmar Bob Rae, Minister of Trade and Export Development, and Immigration and Career Training of Saskatchewan Jeremy Harrison, and Canadian Commercial Corporation President and CEO Martin Zablocki.

She is expected to return home via Dubai on Tuesday night.

On Friday evening, Hasina attended a dinner hosted for the heads of the government, heads of state and representatives of international organisations by Governor General of Canada Julie Payette at La Citadelle de Quebec.

The Canadian government has invited many other world leaders and heads of international organisations to the G7 Summit for the special outreach session with the focus on healthy oceans and resilient coastal communities.

They are Mauricio Macri, president of Argentina and chair of the G20, Jovenel Moïse, president of Haiti and chair of the Caribbean Community, Andrew Holness, prime minister of Jamaica, Uhuru Kenyatta, president of Kenya, Hilda Heine, president of the Marshall Islands, Erna Solberg, prime minister of Norway, Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda and chair of the African Union, Macky Sall, president of Senegal, Danny Faure, president of Seychelles, Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa, Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, prime minister of Vietnam, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, José Ángel Gurría, secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, and Kristalina Georgieva, chief executive officer of the World Bank.

France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and the US are the other members of the grouping.

These leaders and heads of international organisations will meet G7 leaders to discuss how to build resilient coasts and communities, share ocean knowledge and science, and support sustainable oceans and fisheries.

They will also explore how to best address pressing challenges, including plastics in our oceans and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, the Canadian government said in a statement.

Canada holds the G7 presidency for 2018. Part of this role includes setting the agenda for the year, as well as organising and hosting the Leaders’ Summit, ministerial meetings, and other associated events.