Dhaka: Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov arrived here on Friday night to visit Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Pabna.

Secretary (Asia and Pacific), Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mahbub Uz Zaman and Additional Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology Md Humayun Kabir Lasker received the Russian deputy prime minister at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 11:45pm, an official told UNB.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the Russian deputy prime minister are scheduled to visit the site of the first nuclear plant of the country on Saturday by a helicopter before Borisov’s less than 24 hours’ stay in Dhaka, a Foreign Ministry source said.

Earlier, Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque said they, in foreign office, are extremely hopeful that the relationship between the two countries will only ‘go up and up’ and there is no question of going down in the days to come.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a message on the occasion of the first concrete pouring into the second unit of the nuclear power plant said the construction of the plant is a long-cherished dream that was initiated in 1961.

But unfortunately, the implementation of that dream could not be materialised due to the discriminatory behaviour of the then Pakistan government, she said.

After assuming power in 2009, the current government took ‘pragmatic measures’ to implement the nuclear plant, Sheikh Hasina said.

‘I hope that the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant will play a vital role in our socio-economic development and also in implementing the vision 2041 of our government. I wish all-out success of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant,’ said the Prime Minister.