Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will pay a three-day official visit to Italy and the Holy See from February 12-14.
In Rome, she along with international personalities and heads-of-state will attend the 41st session of the annual Governing Council meeting of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on February 13-14 to discuss how investing in sustainable rural livelihoods is central to peace building, state-building and social stability around the world.
The theme of this year's event is “From fragility to long-term resilience: investing in sustainable rural economies.”
The prime minister will then pay a bilateral visit to Vatican City where she will meet Pope Francis and other dignitaries.
Pope Francis visited Bangladesh on November 30-December 2 last year when he attended a variety of programmes after meetings with President Abdul Hamid and Hasina.
Apart from participating in the IFAD meeting in Rome, the PM will also hold bilateral meetings with the participating heads of state and leaders of host Italy.
According to officials, the Rohingya refugee issue may come out prominently in the upcoming IFAD meeting as the world is currently facing incidences of violent conflicts which are multiplying the number of internally displaced persons and refugees.
These realities are undermining the prospects for sustainable development and threatening the livelihoods of billions of rural people, they pointed out.
The Governing Council is IFAD's main decision-making body which makes decisions on issues such as approval of new memberships, appointment of IFAD's president , matters pertaining to the permanent seat of the fund, approval of the administrative budget and adoption of broad policies, criteria and regulations.
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali will hold a press briefing on February 8 on the prime minister's official visits to Italy and the Holy See (Vatican City) and participation in the 41st Session of the IFAD Governing Council.
