Najib given red carpet reception in Bangladesh

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak (pic) received a red carpet welcome upon arrival in the Bangladesh capital for his three-day visit, starting Sunday.

The arrival of the Prime Minister with his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor at 8.05pm local time at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport from Colombo, Sri Lanka was received by his counterpart from Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, Malaysian High Commissioner Norlin Othman and senior Bangladeshi ministers.

His presence, at the invitation of Sheikh Hasina, was very meaningful to this country because Malaysia was among the earliest to recognise its independence and the first Islamic nation to do so in 1971.

During his visit, he is scheduled to visit the military memorial for soldiers who were killed during the war of Bangladeshi independence at Savar, before opening the Memorial Specialist Hospital and Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Nursing College in Gazipur.

The Prime Minister will then visit the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum before heading a Malaysian delegation for a bilateral meeting with Sheikh Hasina which will also be attended by Anifah and Malaysia's Special Envoy to South Asia, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.

Najib is also scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Bangladesh president Md Abdul Hamid and attend a dinner hosted by Sheikh Hasina.

Before visiting Bangladesh, the Prime Minister headed a Malaysian delegation to the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo.

He is scheduled to return home on Tuesday morning.