UNB, Dhaka :Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has cancelled her Malta and France tours considering the overall situation both at home and in Europe, said an official.The Prime Minister was scheduled to attend the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Malta on November 27-29, said the official. Now Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali is likely to lead Bangladesh in the meeting on behalf of the Prime Minister.Malta, an island state in the Mediterranean Sea which served throughout history as a bridge between North Africa and Europe, will host the meeting for the second time, having successfully done so in 2005.The CHOGM-2015 will seek Commonwealth’s renewed focus on combating the adverse impacts of climate change, violent extremism and migration, besides support to small states and sustainable development.The official also said the Prime Minister cancelled her France tour where she was scheduled to attend the climate conference. Now Environment Minister Anwar Hossain Manju will lead the Bangladesh delegation.The climate conference will be held on November 30 to December 1. COP21, also known as the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, will for the first time in over 20 years of UN negotiations, envisages to achieve a legally-binding and universal agreement on climate, aiming to keep global warming below 2°C.Meanwhile, the press briefing of the Foreign Minister, scheduled to be held on Thursday at 2:20 pm on participation of Bangladesh delegation in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) has been cancelled due to ‘unavoidable circumstances’.
