Welcoming newly appointed representatives of PPD, WFP and IOM, Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman on Thursday underscored Bangladesh’s interest in deepening cooperation with their organizations across shared development and humanitarian priorities, and wished them success in their assignments.
Three newly appointed heads - Professor Joseph Akinkugbe Adelegan, Executive Director of the Partners in Population and Development (PPD) Secretariat; Coco H. Ushiyama, Country Representative of the World Food Programme (WFP) Bangladesh; and Dr. Laura Nicole Tomm-Bonde, Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Bangladesh, presented their credentials to the Foreign Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
All three newly appointed representatives congratulated Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur on his election as president of the eighty-first session of the United Nations General Assembly.
They expressed their appreciation for Bangladesh’s long-standing partnership with their respective organizations and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening cooperation with the Government of Bangladesh in advancing shared priorities.
During the meeting with Prof Adelegan, the Foreign Minister appreciated the important role of PPD in promoting reproductive health, family planning, maternal and child health, and expressed confidence that PPD would further strengthen its contribution to sustainable development and population-related initiatives.
In his meeting with Ushiyama, the Foreign Minister commended WFP’s long-standing partnership with Bangladesh in the areas of food security, nutrition, school feeding, and humanitarian assistance.
He appreciated WFP’s continued support for the Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals and the affected host communities in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char and underscored the importance of sustained international support for the Rohingya response.
With Dr. Tomm-Bonde, the discussion focused on how Bangladesh and IOM could work more closely to strengthen public education and market-relevant skills for prospective migrants, improve data systems throughout the migration cycle, expand safe and regular pathways, and prevent irregular migration through awareness campaigns.
The Foreign Minister appreciated IOM’s contribution to implementation of the Global Compact for Migration, the humanitarian response for the Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar, and assistance to Bangladeshi nationals stranded in crisis-affected countries.
Dr. Tomm-Bonde thanked the Foreign Minister for the warm reception, praised Bangladesh’s leadership in advancing safe, orderly and regular migration.