- Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s participation at the G20 Summit in New Delhi will add yet another feather to the ‘Golden Chapter’ in Dhaka-Delhi ties.

"We look forward to working together with G20 partners to find multi-dimensional solutions to the multiple crises plaguing our world," he said.

The Foreign Minister was speaking as the chief guest at the opening session of a discussion titled “G20 Summit: Dhaka to New Delhi”, at Foreign Service Academy.

Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma, Ambassador Mohammad Ziauddin, who is discharging his responsibilities as the Bangladesh Sherpa for G20, and President of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry and G20 Employer Advocate Selima Ahmad, MP spoke at the opening session.

The recognition by G20 — under the Indian Presidency — that the status quo is no longer sustainable for multilateralism to function is a major turn-around, Momen said.

The Foreign Minister hoped that Bangladesh can make visible and meaningful contributions to the G20 processes through multi-stakeholder participation.

The Prime Minister has been invited to the Summit to be held in New Delhi on September 9-10, and she guided the nature and level of engagements with the different G20 processes.

“We thank them as they have honored us. We are among the nine countries which are invited. We feel very honored,” Foreign Minister Momen told reporters at a media briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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He said the Indian Presidency of the G20 has brought a dynamic change in the concept and they hosted around 250 events in 50 cities.

Responding to a question, Momen said Bangladesh is the spokesperson of the Global South and remains vocal on climate issues.

“We do not want war. We want an end of the war,” he said, adding that Bangladesh will also call for corrective actions to ensure food and energy security globally.

He said India has taken a leadership role and Bangladesh will get the opportunity to draw attention to the developed countries.

“We would like to be the voice of the Global South. Bangladesh will be a big voice in the G20 Summit,” said the Foreign Minister.

Regarding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s bilateral meeting with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi next during the G20 Summit, Momen said such meetings get finalized at the last moment.

Certainly there is a possibility of a bilateral meeting between the two Prime Ministers to discuss bilateral and global issues, said the Foreign Minister.

Prime Minister Hasina had participated in G7 Outreach Meetings in Japan and Canada in 2016 and 2018 respectively.

She recently attended the BRICS Outreach Summit in Johannesburg as one of the invited leaders from outside Africa.

"Her upcoming participation at the G20 Summit stands out for the fact that the invited leaders there get to share the discussion table along with the core G20 members," Momen said.

"Bangladesh’s participation at the upcoming G20 Summit also aligns with our value-driven diplomatic efforts to champion the cause of sustainable development globally," he said.

It is to the credit of the Indian G20 Presidency that it has brought the issues of the Global South to the foreground, where it can count on Bangladesh as a willing partner.

"I acknowledge the call made the other day by my Indian counterpart Minister S. Jaishankar for a re-globalization that is more inclusive and diversified than the model that treats most countries in the Global South as mere recipients or consumers," Momen said.

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Bangladesh fully subscribes to the six thematic priorities identified by the Indian G20 Presidency.

“We have already joined the global partnerships like International Solar Alliance, International Big Cat Alliance and Coalition for Disaster-Resilient Infrastructures — personally championed by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi,” Momen said.

He said they see merit in adopting his innovative ideas like Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) in their national context.

"We hope to draw lessons from India’s massive roll-out of inter-operable digital public infrastructure for our own move towards building a smart government and economy. In turn, we believe we have crucial insights to share with the rest of the Global South on women-led development," he added.

There were three panel discussions on women-led development, lifestyle for environment and green development, and digital public infrastructure.

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