Grand welcome

The red carpet was rolled out, the cannons boomed out 21 times at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport as German President Christian Wulff arrived in Dhaka on Monday on a three-day official visit to Bangladesh. Wullf's visit to Bangladesh is marked as the official visit to Bangladesh by a German president since 1986.

President Zillur Rahman welcomed the German president on the tarmac when he alighted from a special Deutsche Lufthansa flight at 1.20 pm. They shook hands and greeted each other, while a young boy presented a bouquet to the German president. The German head of state was then received with full military honors.

The Bangladeshi government turned out in strength to welcome their guest from Germany. President Wulff was met by several cabinet ministers including Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni. The German ambassador to Bangladesh, Michael Holger, and the Bangladeshi ambassador to Germany, Masud Mannan, as well as high civil and military officials were also present at the welcome ceremony. After his arrival the German president went straight to Savar to pay tribute to the martyrs of the 1971 War of Liberation at the National Memorial.

Strengthening bilateral ties

The aim of the German president's visit to Bangladesh is to strengthen bilateral ties and trade relations between Dhaka and Berlin. He is leading an 84-member delegation, comprising members of the German parliament, senior foreign office officials and the representatives of both the economics and technology ministries. The delegation also comprises high-level representatives of German business.

According to official sources, trade cooperation will be of paramount importance during the visit of the German president. Germany is now Bangladesh's second most important trading partner. Bilateral trade is booming at unprecedented levels and is experiencing a rapid upturn at the present time.

German support of democracy

In the evening, Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni and the German president had a first round of talks. On Tuesday, Wulff will visit the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum to pay his tribute to the "Father of the Nation" of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was murdered in a military coup in 1975. From the museum, the German president will go to the nearby German cultural centre, the Goethe Institute, to meet with representatives of civil society. German foreign policy strongly supported the country's return to democracy in 2009 and the visit of the German president is a good opportunity for many committed citizens to discuss the present situation in their country.

Wulff then meets Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who will host a lunch in honor of the German president. The day concludes with a state banquet hosted by President Zillur Rahman at Bangabhaba. The two presidents will then hold a separate round of talks.

The visit concludes on 30 November. The German president then travels on to Indonesia.

Author: Debarati Guha

Editor: Grahame Lucas