Prime Minister Tarique Rahman returned to Dhaka on Friday morning, concluding a three-day official visit to Türkiye where he attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) and held bilateral talks with world leaders.
A Turkish Airlines flight carrying the prime minister and his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman and their entourage landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 5:40 am said Additional Press Secretary Atikur Rahman Ruman. They had departed Antalya on Thursday afternoon via Istanbul where senior Turkish foreign ministry official Ambassador Subutay Yuksel saw them off.
Cabinet members, senior civil and military officials and top BNP leaders including Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Gani received the premier at the airport.
During the visit Tarique Rahman addressed the COP31 High-Level Segment, outlining five urgent actions to support climate-vulnerable nations. He also visited the Bangladesh Pavilion and an eco-friendly jute exhibition in the Green Zone.
On the summit sidelines, the prime minister held bilateral meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and UK Foreign Secretary Edward Miliband. He also held courtesy meetings with the leaders of Brazil, the Maldives, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Moldova, Pakistan and Kuwait alongside the OIC Secretary General and the Mayor of London.
Discussions focused on climate finance, trade, foreign investment and the Rohingya crisis. In talks with Albanese and Miliband, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman sought stronger international engagement for the safe, voluntary and dignified repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.
With Han Zheng, he discussed Chinese investment in energy, infrastructure and job creation while talks with Mirziyoyev covered direct air connectivity and eased visa procedures. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa sought Bangladeshi skilled manpower and reconstruction support, and discussions with Erdogan highlighted UN peacekeeping and peace in the Muslim world. World leaders also congratulated Tarique Rahman on Bangladesh’s democratic transition and his electoral mandate.
Meanwhile Dr Zubaida Rahman addressed a COP31 side event on zero-waste management also highlighting government initiatives to convert waste into energy and resources and attended official engagements hosted by Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan.
