Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen will lead the Bangladesh delegation at the 2nd UN Ocean Conference at Lisbon, Portugal.

He is scheduled to fly there on Thursday.

The foreign minister is expected to make the country statement at the plenary session, participate in the interactive dialogues on the sidelines of the conference, inaugurate the permanent chancery building of Bangladesh Embassy, Lisbon and have bilateral meeting with Portuguese Foreign Minister Joao Gomes Cravinho among the other engagements during his visit to Portugal.

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The 2nd UN Ocean Conference 2022 kicked off yesterday in Lisbon with an aim to address many of the challenges through structural transformations and science-based innovative solutions to achieve Sustainable Development Goal-14 which are conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources.

Portugal and Kenya are co-hosting this global conference this year, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday.

Portuguese President Dr. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta co-chaired the opening high-level plenary session, while UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged the international community to unite to tackle the ocean emergency and stressed the need to preserve and protect the ocean and safeguard peoples' lives and livelihood.

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Secretary of the Maritime Affairs Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rear Admiral (Retd.) Md. Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh Ambassador to Portugal Tarik Ahsan and other Embassy officials participated in the both plenary session and interactive dialogue titled “Addressing Marine Pollution” on the opening day.

On Tuesday, the Bangladesh delegation participated in another interactive dialogue titled “Promoting and strengthening sustainable ocean-based economies, in particular for Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries” as well as the plenary session where leaders around the globe made interventions.