United News of Bangladesh

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has reached Istanbul en route to New York to attend the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). “A Turkish Airlines flight carrying the Prime Minister, his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman and other members of his entourage landed at Istanbul Airport around 11:00am local time today [Monday],” Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Saleh Shibly told UNB. Senior Turkish officials welcomed Tarique Rahman and his wife upon their arrival at Istanbul Airport, Prime Minister’s Additional Press Secretary Atikur Rahman Rumon said. After getting off the plane, the Prime Minister and members of his entourage went to the VIP lounge, where they had a meal featuring Turkish delicacies, he said. After a brief transit, the Prime Minister will leave Istanbul Airport at 2:10pm local time on his journey to New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport. Earlier, he left Dhaka early Monday for New York to attend the 81st session of the UNGA, where he is scheduled to deliver his maiden address as prime minister on September 24. Tarique Rahman, accompanied by his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman and members of his entourage, left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 6:07am on a Turkish Airlines flight, Rumon said. Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Minister Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, BNP acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni, Prime Minister's Defence Adviser Brigadier General (retd) AKM Shamsul Islam and senior government officials saw the Prime Minister off at the VIP lounge of the airport. He is expected to arrive at JFK Airport around 5:55pm local time. The Prime Minister will be received at the airport by Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Irene Zubaida Khan and Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States Tareq Md Ariful Islam. He will then be taken by motorcade to the Hyatt Grand Central New York, where he will stay during his visit. “The Prime Minister is going to New York to attend the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. He will address the General Assembly on September 24,” Rumon said. The Prime Minister is leading a relatively small, 38-member delegation to the UNGA. The delegation includes Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman, Prime Minister’s Adviser Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, State Ministers for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir and Shama Obaed Islam, State Minister for Sports Md Aminul Haque and State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj. Prime Minister’s Advisers Mahdi Amin and Rehan Asif Asad, Invest Bangladesh Authority Chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, and Prime Minister’s Special Assistants Tanvir Shahriar Ghani, SM Ziauddin Hyder and Dr Md Saimum Parvez are also in the delegation. The high-level General Debate of the 81st UN General Assembly will begin on September 22 and continue through September 26 before concluding on September 28 at the UN Headquarters in New York. This year’s UNGA carries special significance for Bangladesh as Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman is serving as President of the 81st session of the General Assembly. The session is being held under the theme, “Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all.” Tarique Rahman’s September 24 address will be his first speech at the UN General Assembly since becoming prime minister. He will also become the third member of his family to address the world body, following Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia. During his stay in New York, the Prime Minister is scheduled to attend a series of high-level events and hold bilateral meetings with heads of state and government on the sidelines of the General Assembly. According to the announced programme, he will attend a welcome breakfast hosted by UN Secretary-General António Guterres for heads of state and government on September 22, followed by other high-level engagements. On September 23, Tarique Rahman is scheduled to attend meetings on global inequality and climate action and join a high-level side event on the Rohingya crisis. At the event, Bangladesh is expected to seek stronger international cooperation for the early repatriation of forcibly displaced Rohingyas to Myanmar. On September 24, the Prime Minister is scheduled to deliver opening remarks at a high-level meeting on threats posed by sea-level rise. He will also attend a Bangladesh-hosted side event on maternal and newborn health and midwifery. On the sidelines of the UNGA, he is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with the Crown Prince of Kuwait and the prime ministers of Croatia, Bhutan, Thailand, Pakistan and Haiti. He is also scheduled to meet UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the President of the European Council, the President of the World Bank Group, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Myanmar and the UN high commissioners for refugees and human rights. Economic diplomacy will also feature prominently during the visit. The Prime Minister is scheduled to meet senior representatives of Meta, Wall Street and other business organisations. The discussions are expected to focus on Bangladesh’s investment environment, manufacturing, infrastructure, technology, human-resource development and employment opportunities for young people. Tarique Rahman is scheduled to leave New York for Dhaka on the night of September 25. Meanwhile, his visit has generated enthusiasm among BNP leaders, activists and supporters living in New York and other US states. In recent days, BNP supporters have gathered in Jackson Heights, home to a large Bangladeshi community, holding processions and chanting slogans ahead of his arrival. Banners, posters and festoons have also been put up at different locations as expatriate Bangladeshis and community groups prepare programmes to welcome the Prime Minister. Much of the organised activity has been led by leaders and activists of the BNP and its affiliated and associated organisations. They have held a series of preparatory meetings and coordinated activities in Bangladeshi-populated areas of New York to finalise the welcome programme. Organisers have also focused on maintaining discipline during planned programmes at the airport and in front of the UN Headquarters. According to community sources, 34 preparatory meetings have so far been held involving the USA BNP, its affiliated and associated organisations and former party leaders.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday morning left here for the United Kingdom en route to New York to attend the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). A VVIP chartered flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the premier and her entourage departed from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 10:35am. Read: UNGA: PM to highlight importance of multilateralism, resolving global issues through discussions The flight is scheduled to land at London Stansted International Airport at 4:45 pm local time. Bangladesh High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Saida Muna Tasneem will receive her at the airport.    Sheikh Hasina will leave London for New York immediately after joining the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey on September 19. She will stay in the USA till October 02. During her stay in the UK, Secretary General of Commonwealth Patricia Scotland, UK Minister for South Asia and North Africa Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Leader of the Opposition Leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer will also pay courtesy calls on her separately. Besides, the Bangladesh PM will attend a reception to be hosted by the King of the United Kingdom at Buckingham Palace for the Heads of the States or the governments. Sheikh Hasina will fly off London for New York in the evening of September 19 and her flight is scheduled to land at the JFK International Airport on the same day. She will join the opening session of the UNGA debate on September 20 and will address the 77th UN general assembly on September 23 (between 4:30pm and 5:30pm local time) in the United Nations headquarters in New York. While in New York, she will also hold talks with a number of leaders and attend different high-level events from September 20 to 24. On September 20, Hasina is scheduled to attend the reception to be hosted by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the opening session of 77th UNGA debate, the reception to be hosted by US president Joe Biden and an event titled ‘the UNGA Platform of Women Leaders.’ Read: New horizon opened: PM says about her India visit She will have separate meetings with Slovenian President Borut Pahor and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee Filippo Grandi on the same day. On September 21, the PM will join a high-level event on sustainable housing (which will be co-hosted by Bangladesh, Botswana, Slovak Republic and UN Habitat) and Global Crisis Response Group (GCRG) Champions’ Meeting, and open a photo exhibition on Padma Bridge at the UNHQs. She will have separate bilateral meetings with Kosovo President Dr Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu and Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso Mendoza on the same day. Besides, WEF Executive Director Professor Schwab Klaus and UN Under-Secretary-General (USG, OHRLLS) Rabab Fatima will separately pay courtesy calls on Sheikh Hasina on September 21.      On September 22, the Bangladesh premier is scheduled to join a breakfast meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), high-level event on Rohingya issue and a high level policy roundtable with the US-Bangladesh joint business council. She will have a bilateral meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and two separate meetings with IOM Director General Antonio Vitorino, and ICC prosecutors Nick Klegg and Karim Khan on the same day. Read:Didn’t return empty-handed: PM on her India visit On September 23, the Prime Minister will deliver her address at the 77th UNGA general debate.      Besides, she will join a civic reception accorded to her by the expatriate Bangladeshis on September 24.    Then she will leave New York for Washington DC and will stay there till October 02. PM Hasina is scheduled to return home in the early hours of October 04 after a short stopover in London on her way from Washington.

President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Volkan Bozkir on Wednesday said the General Assembly has not forgotten the Rohingya people. "To the people I met, I will uphold my promise to share your stories back in New York," he tweeted after visiting Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar district. The UNGA President said, "I came face to face with resilience today in Cox’s Bazar. We often speak about the Rohingya in UNGA - but today I spoke with them." Read: Rohingyas rights to return, citizenship must be respected: UNGA President Earlier on Tuesday, he said basic rights, including to citizenship, and the creation of conditions conducive to the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of all Rohingyas must be respected. “The safety and security of the Rohingya and other minorities must be secured,” he said while delivering his keynote speech at the Sixth Lecture of the Bangabandhu Lecture Series at Foreign Service Academy. Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen also spoke at the programme titled “Bangabandhu, Bangladesh and the United Nations.” State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, among others, were present. Bozkir said he firmly believes they cannot speak on these issues from afar. “The United Nations must continue to reach out to the people we serve.” Turning to the issue of human rights and humanitarian action, he commended Bangladesh for offering shelter and protection to the Rohingya fleeing persecution and unspeakable crimes in Rakhine State. Bozkir mentioned that Bangladesh stepped up at a moment of crisis to uphold the principles of the United Nations when most vulnerable neighbours endured their darkest hour. “Please allow me, on behalf of the United Nations General Assembly, to thank you. History will define your actions as heroic,” he said. Read: Bhasan Char to become another example to world: UNGA President