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First visit by a President of the Swiss Confederation to Bangladesh
No President of the Swiss Confederation had ever been to Bangladesh. Alain Berset spends three days there, with two aims: solidarity with a country hosting more than 650,000 Rohingya driven out of Myanmar, and closer relations with the eighth most populous country in the world. On 5 February, he meets President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina; the two countries adopt a joint declaration. He announces 12 million francs in additional humanitarian aid for 2018, after 8 million in 2017.
On 6 February, he is in Cox’s Bazar. At Sadar District Hospital, he hands over 100 beds and diagnostic equipment funded by Switzerland. Then the Kutupalong camp: “I witnessed the tragedy of the people who fled their homes in Myanmar”. The repatriation agreement between Bangladesh and Myanmar is a positive step, he says, provided that returns are voluntary, safe and dignified.
The economic side matters too: trade has more than doubled since 2010, driven by textiles. He lays flowers at the National Martyrs’ Memorial and the Bangabandhu Museum, and recalls that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman saw his country as the “Switzerland of the East”. The visit ends at the Dhaka Art Summit, supported by Pro Helvetia.
Sunday 4 February 2018 — Dhaka
- Meeting with Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali
Monday 5 February 2018 — Dhaka
- Meeting with Swiss business leaders
- Laying of flowers at the National Martyrs’ Memorial and the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum
- Bangladesh–Switzerland Business Forum, address
- Meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, joint declaration, press conference
- Meeting with President Abdul Hamid and state banquet
Tuesday 6 February 2018 — Cox’s Bazar and Dhaka
- Handover of Swiss equipment at Sadar District Hospital
- Visit to the Kutupalong refugee camp, press statement
- Reception hosted by the Swiss Embassy, address
Wednesday 7 February 2018 — Dhaka
- Meeting with the Speaker of Parliament Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, press conference
- Visit to the Dhaka Art Summit, address
Speeches on this site
- Rencontre avec les milieux économiques suisses et bangladais (French-language page)
- Déclaration à la presse à Dacca après l’entretien avec la Première ministre Sheikh Hasina (French-language page)
- Remise de la contribution suisse à l’hôpital de district Sadar de Cox’s Bazar (French-language page)
- Déclaration au camp de réfugiés rohingyas de Kutupalong (French-language page)
- Réception à Dacca à l’occasion de la visite officielle au Bangladesh (French-language page)
- Visite du Dhaka Art Summit (French-language page)
Sources