Dhaka: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka for Kathmandu on Thursday on a two-day official visit to Nepal to attend the 4th Summit of BIMSTEC.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) having seven Member States — Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand — came into being on June 6, 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration, reports the UNB.

A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the Prime Minister and her entourage departed Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport for Kathmandu at around 8:05am on Thursday, reports the UNB.

The flight is scheduled to reach Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu at 9:15 am (local time) the same day.

Nepalese Deputy Prime Minister Ishwor Pokharel and Bangladesh Ambassador to Nepal Mashfee Binte Shams will receive Sheikh Hasina at the airport.

Later, she will be escorted to Hotel Soaltee Crowne Plazza at Tahachal Marg in a ceremonial motorcade where she will be staying during her visit.

On Thursday, the Prime Minister will meet Nepalese President Bidya Devi Bhandari at Sheetal Nibash, the Presidential Palace, in the Nepalese capital. She will also attend a luncheon there to be hosted by the Nepalese President.

In the afternoon, Hasina along with other leaders will attend the opening session of the 4th BIMSTEC Summit at Hotel Soaltee Crowne Plaza in Kathmandu.

Hasina and other leaders will also join a gala dinner to be hosted by Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in the city’s Hyatt Regency Hotel in the evening on the day.

The Prime Minister will return home on Friday noon.