Antalya, Turkiye, Nov 11,  (V7N) – Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman on Wednesday attended a dinner 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).

The dinner was held at the Green Zone of COP31 at 6:30pm local time, where the Prime Minister and his wife exchanged greetings with heads of state and government and their spouses from different 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 in addressing the impacts of climate change.

Later, he visited the Bangladesh Pavilion, where he toured an exhibition of eco-friendly jute products and watched presentations on Bangladesh's initiatives for environmental conservation.

In the afternoon, Tarique Rahman held another bilateral meeting with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, discussing ways to strengthen bilateral relations and expand cooperation between the two countries.

Earlier in the morning, he joined the World Leaders' Summit of COP31 at the Antalya Exhibition Centre, arriving there at 10:10am local time. He was welcomed by the organisers and exchanged greetings with heads of state and government and senior representatives of international organisations at the Leaders' Lounge before the opening session.

The Prime Minister is also scheduled to attend a Zero Waste Roundtable meeting. He will address a plenary session on November 12 and is expected to hold bilateral meetings and pay courtesy calls on several world leaders on the sidelines of the summit.

On Tuesday, a day before the summit opened, he held a 30-minute meeting with President Erdogan at the Maxx Royal Hotel to strengthen Bangladesh-Turkey relations. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman arrived in Antalya on Tuesday on a three-day official visit.

end/aj/rh/