Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and his wife, Dr Zubaida Rahman, attended a dinner last night hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and First Lady Emine Erdogan in honour of world leaders attending the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) here.
The dinner was held in the Green Zone of COP 31 at 18:30 local time, where the prime minister and his wife exchanged greetings with heads of state and government and their spouses from a range of countries.
Earlier in the day, the prime minister held a bilateral meeting with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng at the conference venue, during which they discussed Chinese investment in Bangladesh and cooperation on addressing the impacts of climate change.
He later visited the Bangladesh Pavilion, touring an exhibition of eco‑friendly jute products and attending presentations on Bangladesh’s environmental‑conservation initiatives.
During the afternoon, Tarique Rahman conducted a bilateral meeting with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, focusing on ways to strengthen bilateral relations and expand cooperation between the two countries.
He arrived at the Antalya Exhibition Centre at 10:10 a.m. local time to attend the World Leaders’ Summit of COP31.
The official was received by the event organisers and exchanged greetings with heads of state and government and senior representatives of international organisations in the Leaders’ Lounge before the opening session.
The prime minister is also scheduled to attend a Zero Waste Roundtable meeting.
He is scheduled to address a plenary session on 12 November and is expected to hold bilateral meetings and make courtesy calls on several world leaders on the sidelines of the summit.
On Tuesday, a day before the summit opened, he met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a 30‑minute discussion at the Maxx Royal Hotel, aiming to deepen Bangladesh‑Turkey relations.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman arrived in Antalya on Tuesday on a three-day official visit.
Why it matters
These diplomatic engagements at COP31 reinforce Bangladesh's bilateral relations with key partners like China and Uzbekistan while highlighting the country's climate resilience initiatives on the global stage.