Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Iyad Ameen Madani arrived in the capital Dhaka early Sunday on a four-day official visit.
The OIC secretary general arrived at 3:50am (local time) by a flight of Etihad Airways, according to reports.
Later, he held meeting with Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque at the Foreign Ministry.
This is Madani’s first visit to Bangladesh after assuming office as the Secretary General recently and the purpose of the visit is to strengthen the existing cooperation between the OIC and Bangladesh, according to the Foreign Ministry.
He is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Jatiya Snagsad Bhaban at 6:30pm after holding meeting with Finance Minister AMA Muhith. He will also meet Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid apart from visiting some institutions, according to a foreign ministry statement.
The OIC Secretary General is scheduled to meet President Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban on Monday at 7:30pm.
Madani, a former minister of Saudi Arabia, assumed office as the 10th Secretary General of OIC on January 1, this year after his election in the 12th OIC Summit held in Cairo, Egypt in February 2013.
Bangladesh is among the first few countries that the Secretary General decided to visit after taking over charge as the OIC General Secretariat.
The OIC is the second largest international organisation, after the UN family, which groups 57 Muslim-majority countries spread over four continents.
BBN/SSR/AD-09Mar14-1:53 pm (BST)