Dhaka, Nov 2 (bdnews24.com)—Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived in Hanoi on Friday morning on a three-day official visit to Socialist Republic of Vietnam before going to Laos to attend the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit (ASEM9). A Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight carrying Hasina and her entourage had taken off at 7:30am from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital. It landed at the Noi Bai International Airport at 10:50am local time where Deputy Foreign Minister of Vietnam Le Luong Minh and Bangladesh Ambassador in Hanoi Supradip Chakma received the Prime Minister. She was accorded a red-carpet welcome at the airport and two children presented bouquets to her. Hasina was taken to Sheraton Hanoi Hotel where she will be staying during her Nov 2-4 visit to Vietnam. Thenafter, she is scheduled to go to Laos to attend the 9th ASEM Summit of Heads of State and Government scheduled for Nov 5-6. Foreign Ministry officials said the Prime Minister on Friday would hold talks with Vietnamese leaders and also attend several agreements signing ceremonies between Bangladesh and Vietnam. She is also scheduled to make courtesy calls on Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong and Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Sinh Hung. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will host a dinner and cultural programme in the honour of the Prime Minister. On Saturday, Hasina will visit the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh and monuments of national heroes and martyrs, and will pay her respects by placing wreaths. Later, she will also attend a business seminar and pay a field trip to the industrial zone and agriculture fields. She will leave Hanoi for Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on Nov 4. She will meet the leaders of Lao People's Democratic Republic at the Presidential Palace the same day. On Nov 5, she will join the opening ceremony of the 9th ASEM Summit at the National Convention Centre in Laos. The theme for this year's ASEM9 is "Friends for Peace, Partners for Prosperity". It is expected that the leaders of Asia and Europe would discuss regional and international issues of common interest and concern, including, food and energy security, sustainable development, financial and economic crisis, climate change, natural disaster response and socio-cultural cooperation. Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, Ambassador-at-Large M Ziauddin and Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Abul Kalam Azad, among others, are accompanying Hasina during her visit to Vietnam and Laos. A 36-member business delegation, led by Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) President AK Azad, is also part of the Prime Minister's entourage. Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury, Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Muhammad Faruq Khan, Railway Minister Mujibul Haque and Chief Whip Abdus Sahid saw her off at the airport in the morning. Among others, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hussian Bhuiyan, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Shaikh Mohammad Wahid Uz Zaman, chiefs of the three services, Home Secretary and the Vietnamese Charge d'Affaires in Dhaka were also present.