Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to visit Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to attend the International Conference on Women in Islam which will be held on November 6-8.

Saudi Arabia and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) are taking preparations for the conference, an official told UNB. 

The 49th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers held in Mauritania, in March 2023, called for holding an international conference on women in Islam and welcomed the offer made by Saudi Arabia to host it in coordination with the General Secretariat.

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The conference aims to clarify women's rights and responsibilities in Islam, especially women's rights to education and work as per the teachings of Islam, with broad participation from scholars of the Islamic Ummah.

Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Bangladesh Essa Yousef Essa Al Duhailan met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last week at her official residence Ganabhaban and handed over a letter inviting the Prime Minister to participate in the conference on women in Islam.

He also handed over another letter seeking support of Bangladesh for his country’s bid to host Fifa World Cup 2034.

The Prime Minister responded positively in this regard.

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Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will visit Brussels, Belgium later this month to attend the Global Gateway Forum 2023.

The Global Gateway Forum will bring together representatives of governments from the European Union and from around the world with the private sector, civil society, leading thinkers, financing institutions, and international organisations in a two-day, invitation-only event to be held in the Belgian capital on October 25-26.

The Prime Minister will return home on October 27, said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen who will brief the media in detail on Sunday. 

He said the Prime Minister will have a number of meetings with leaders of European countries on the sidelines of the Forum. 

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, invited the Prime Minister when they met at the G20 Summit recently.

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EU’s Global Gateway strategy connects countries and regions around the world by encouraging public and private investments in a global network of transportation and supply chains, green energy, modern telecommunications, education and research, with an emphasis on sustainable development and European values, such as good governance, transparency and equal partnership. 

The objective of the Global Gateway Forum is to bring leaders together to debate issues relating to global investment in infrastructure, including challenges faced by the public and private sectors, best practices and lessons learned. 

It will focus on the themes of green energy transition and green hydrogen; education and research; critical raw materials; transport corridors; health products manufacturing; and digital infrastructure.

It will also provide a platform to demonstrate delivery of the G7 partnership for global infrastructure and investment.