DHAKA: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will leave for Nigeria in the early hours of July 7 on a three-day visit to attend the 7th D-8 Summit that will chart out ways of enhancing trade within the bloc.

“PM will leave Dhaka at 1:00am on July 7,” Abul Kalam Azad, Press Secretary to the Prime Minister, told banglanews24.com.bd Thursday.

 “She will take part in the summit as a multilateral participant,” said Saida Muna Tasneem, Director-General at the External Publicity Wing of the Foreign Office.

During the summit meeting of the forum of eight developing countries, Sheikh Hasina is expected to hold sideline meetings with her counterparts from other countries, said the DG, adding that the schedule has not been finalized yet.

Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni will also be in the PM’s entourage.  

The summit’s theme is - ‘Enhancing Investment Cooperation among D-8 Members’.  

The Developing-8 is an organization for economic cooperation among Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.

A source in the Foreign Office counted the signing of Preferential Trade Agreement, Customs Agreement and D-8 visa agreement as the major achievements of D-8 in recent years.

“The Prime Minister will lay importance on enhancing cooperation in the fields of energy, industrial development, agriculture, tourism and food security among the D-8 member-countries,” the source added.

Prime Minister Hasina is expected to return home on July 10 in the morning.

BDST: 1830 HRS. July 01, 2010