Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang will make a brief stopover at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at around 1 am tonight.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen is likely to receive his Chinese counterpart at the airport, a foreign ministry official told BSS.

He said it is not an official visit to Bangladesh, but the Chinese foreign minister will make a stopover here on his way to another destination.

Gang, who was newly appointed as the Chinese foreign minister, will make the stopover on his way to five African countries in a weeklong trip.

Foreign Minister Qin Gang will visit Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, Benin, Egypt, the African Union Headquarters and the League of Arab States Headquarters upon invitation, from January 9 to 16, 2023,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily media briefing on Monday.

This is the 33rd consecutive year that Africa has been the destination of the Chinese foreign ministers’ annual first overseas visit, he added.