OP26 President-Designate Alok Sharma arrived in Bangladesh on a two-day visit to strengthen support for UK COP26 climate priorities ahead of hosting the crucial UN climate change summit in Glasgow this November.

The President-designate COP26 landed at Dhaka airport by a flight (No. QR 0957) this morning. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam received Alok Sharma, also a British lawmaker, at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 9:20am on Wednesday.  Alok Sharma will hold a meeting with Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen at 12:30pm at Foreign Service Academy. He is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence Ganabhaban at 11:30am.Sharma will also attend "UK- Bangladesh Climate Partnership Roundtable" at 2pm at Foreign Service Academy before holding a joint briefing at 3:00pm.

Besides, he will discuss shared priorities with Bangladesh which remains a "crucial" partner on the road to COP26. Alok Sharma was appointed full-time President for COP26, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, on 8 January 2021.  He was previously Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and President for COP26 between 13 February 2020 and 8 January 2021.