Commonwealth Secretary-General to visit Bangladesh

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma will make an official visit to Bangladesh on 26-28 October 2008. He will meet with Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed, Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Chowdhury, and Chief Election Commissioner Shamsul Huda, on 27 October.

These meetings are expected to cover ongoing collaboration between Bangladesh and the Commonwealth in various fields. Mr Sharma will also discuss the preparations being made for general elections to be held in Bangladesh on 18 December, designed to restore representative governance in the country, as well as progress in reform of the country's democratic institutions.

Also on 27 October, the Secretary-General will address the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute on the theme: ‘The Commonwealth - current priorities, future directions’.

Note to Editors

The Secretary-General will hold a press conference at the conclusion of his discussions, at 19:15 hrs on Monday 27 October, at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka.

For all media enquiries contact Ms Geraldine Goh on +44 789459-3518.

Key Links:

• Country Profile: Bangladesh