Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) from November 5 to attend the international conference on “Women in Islam: Status and Empowerment” which will be held in Jeddah.
The Kingdom in coordination with the general secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will host the conference on November 6-8.
The conference will discuss on five themes and publication on “Jedah Document of Women in Islam” will be published, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told reporters at a media briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday.
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State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam and senior officials of the MoFA including its spokesperson Seheli Sabrin were present.
The prime minister will travel to Madina by a commercial flight from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on November 5, Momen said.
She is likely to travel to Jeddah from Madina by train and attend the conference on November 6 evening, Momen said.
She will then visit Makkah where she will perform Umrah, said the foreign minister.
OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha, Iranian vice president and Saudi foreign minister, among others, will meet the prime minister during the visit, Momen said.
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Bangladesh has strongly condemned the killing of innocent civilians including women and children and demanded an immediate end to Israeli brutalities in Palestine. Bangladesh is likely to reiterate its position on the Palestine issue.
Sharing the importance of PM’s participation at the conference, Momen said the prime minister is a “star” in women’s empowerment and has earned a reputation globally for her efforts.
She has empowered women at the grassroots level apart from women’s participation in every sector, he said.
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.
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 Muslim 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 her to participate in the conference on women in Islam.