PM visits historic Bai Dinh Pagoda (The Prime Minister invited the Buddhist monks and political party leaders including the Pagoda Chief to join the Buddhist International Conference in Dhaka slated for Nov 9 this year.)

Sun, Nov 4th, 2012 6:04 pm BdST

Dhaka, Nov 4 (bdnews24.com)–Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday visited the  historic Bai Dinh Pagoda at the Ninh Binh City, before leaving the Vietnamese capital  Hanoi for Laos to attend the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting of Heads of State and Government  (ASEM9). On her arrival at Bai Dinh Pagoda, about 100 kilometers from Hanoi, Chairman of the  Ninh Binh Peoples Committee Bui Van Thang received the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister stayed there for about half-an hour and visited the surrounding places. She was accompanied by Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, Ambassador at-Large M Ziauddin,  Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad, Bangladesh's Ambassador to Vietnam Supradip Chakma,  Buddhist monk from Bangladesh Satyananda Priya Mohathero and Buddhist community leader  and member of Awami League advisory council Pranab Barua were present among others. The Prime Minister prayed for divine blessings for peace and progress of the both countries  and their citizens. Bai Dinh Pagoda, situated in the mountainous Bai Dinh district, is one of the important tourist  attractions in Vietnam. The government recognised the Bai Dinh mountain as a cultural and  historical heritage of Vietnam in 1997. The Prime Minister invited the Buddhist monks and political party leaders including the Pagoda  Chief to join the Buddhist International Conference in Dhaka slated for Nov 9 this year. In the afternoon, Hasina left Hanoi, concluding her three-day trip to Vietnam. The summit of the 48-nation forum of Asian and European countries will be held this year with  the theme--"Friends for Peace, Partners for Prosperity"--aimed at promoting mutual understanding,  peace, stability, development and prosperity of Asia and Europe. The summit will provide an opportunity to the leaders of Asia and Europe to discuss regional and  international issues of common interests and concerns, including, among others, food and energy  security, sustainable development, financial and economic crisis, climate change, natural disaster  response and socio-cultural cooperation. bdnews24.com/sum/su/skb/ano/1732h