Bangkok: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Bangkok this (Thursday) evening for Sydney on a three-day official visit to Australia to join the Global Summit of Women.

The Prime Minister made a two and a half hours stopover in the Thai capital en route to Sydney, reports the BSS.

A Thai Airways flight carrying the Prime Minister and her entourage members departed Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok at 7:30pm local time.

Minister Attached to Prime Minister’s Office, the Royal Thai Government, Kobsak Pootrakol and Bangladesh Ambassador in Bangkok Sayeeda Muna Tasneem saw the Prime Minister off at the airport.

The flight is scheduled to reach Kingsford Smith International Airport in Sydney at 7:20am local time (3:20am BST) on April 27.

Earlier, the Prime Minister and her entourage members left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka for Sydney at 1:50pm.

Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister AKM Shahjahan Kamal, PM’s Advisers HT Imam and Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, Jatiya Sangsad Chief Whip ASM Feroz and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam were present at the airport to see the Prime Minister off.

Besides, the chiefs of the three services, the PM’s principal secretary, the dean of the diplomatic corps and the Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh were present.

Sheikh Hasina will receive the Global Women’s Leadership Award-2018 on Friday at a ceremony at International Convention Centre (ICC) in Sydney with Vietnam Vice President Thi Ngoc Thinh and former President of Kosovo Atifete Jahjaga.

The US-based Global Summit of Women is giving the award to Sheikh Hasina for her outstanding leadership in advancing women’s education and entrepreneurship in Bangladesh.

Global Women Summit is an annual international gathering of women leaders from around the world on business/economic issues, and Chair of Corporate Women Directors International (CWDI), promoting the increased participation of women on corporate boards globally.

In the Summit, Sheikh Hasina will highlight the government’s initiatives for women’s empowerment and mainstreaming them in the national development, Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) sources said.

Sheikh Hasina will hold a bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull on April 28, while Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop will call on her in the Intercontinental Sydney Hotel where she will be staying during the visit.

She will also visit Western Sydney University and join a community event at Sofitel Hotel on April 28.

The Prime Minister will leave Australia for home on April 29 and reach Dhaka in the early hours of next day.