The Aga Khan, billionaire philanthropist and spiritual leader of 20 million Shia Ismaili Muslims, will lay the foundation stone for a US$50 million (32 million) academy in Bangladesh, his foundation said Monday.
The Aga Khan began a four-day visit to the south Asian country Monday to promote educational services.
The Aga Khan Foundation said the visit is part of commemorations marking the Aga Khan's 50th year as imam of the world's Shia Ismaili Muslims.
While in Dhaka, he will lay the foundation for the US$50 million Aga Khan Academy, which is a part of a US$1 billion (642 million) education scheme for 18 schools planned in 14 countries in Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East.
The Aga Khan is expected to meet Bangladesh's interim leader Fakhruddin Ahmed later Monday to discuss issues such as educational development and health.
The 71-year-old Aga Khan is also scheduled to meet other top Bangladeshi officials and foreign diplomats based in Dhaka, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The spiritual leader's education scheme is funded by the Aga Khan Development Network, a group of private, non-denominational development agencies focused on social, cultural and economic development.
The network's first school opened in Kenya in 2003, and others are planned in India, Bangladesh, Mozambique, Madagascar, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Tanzania and Uganda.
The foundation has also donated millions of dollars to Bangladeshi non-governmental organizations over the past decade to provide education and health services to destitute children. Most Bangladeshi Muslims are Sunni.
The Aga Khan is also known as Prince Karim Aga Khan IV. He succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan, on July 11, 1957, to become the Ismaili community's 49th imam.
