Marshall Island president arrives in Dhaka
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen received the president of the Pacific island nation at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
Marshall Island President Dr Hilda Heine arrived in Dhaka early hours of today on a two-day visit to attend the "Dhaka Meeting of the Global Commission on Adaptation (GCA)".
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen received the president of the Pacific island nation at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the one-day meeting on Wednesday morning at Hotel InterContinental where Ban Ki-moon, the current chair of GCA, will address a session titled "Way forward and next step towards climate change adaptation".
Before the inaugural session, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will hold a meeting with the Marshall Island President and the former UN chief at the same hotel to discuss various issues related to climate change adaptation efforts.
President Hilda started her visit in Dhaka today by attending a preparatory meeting at Hotel InterContinental ahead of the tomorrow's 'Dhaka Meeting on GCA' to discuss various issues including accelerating adaptation action and support from Bangladesh and around the world.
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister M Shahab Uddin, CEO of Global Commission for Adaptation centre Dr Patrick V Verkooijen, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of World Resources Institute Manish Bapna and CGA Commissioner and Executive Director of BRAC Muhammad Musa also attended the preparatory meeting.
In the afternoon, Marshall Island President Hilda will go to Bangabhaban to hold a meeting with President Abdul Hamid.
The Marshal Island president and Ban Ki-moon are also scheduled to visit Rohingya camps and Khrushkul Special Asrayan Project at Ukhiya in Cox's Bazar tomorrow afternoon after attending the meeting in the morning.
Dr Hilda is scheduled to leave Dhaka in the early hours of Thursday while the foreign minister will be present at the airport to see her off.
Everything You Want to know about Marshal Island
The Marshall Islands are a sprawling chain of volcanic islands and coral atolls in the central Pacific Ocean, between Hawaii and the Philippines.
The islands were occupied by the US for several decades after the Second World War. They are now a sovereign nation under a Compact of Free Association with the US which came into force in 1986 and was renegotiated in 2003.
The US controls the security and defense of the islands and provides millions of dollars in aid every year. The US rents the Kwajalein atoll as a base and missile test range.
Having an area of 70 square miles the country has 55 thousand populations. Its capital is Majuro and the people speak mainly two languages- Marshallese and English.
Majority people are Christian and they use US dollar as their currency.
In the northwest, Bikini Atoll’s largely undisturbed waters, used as a ship graveyard after World War II, are now a popular wreck dive site. Near Majuro Atoll the coral reef at Kalalin Pass teems with marine life.