By Mizan Rahman
Dhaka
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will co-chair a high-level summit on peace operations with US President Barack Obama in New York on September 28, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali said yesterday.
The US president has taken the initiative to host the summit on the sidelines of the 70th UN General Assembly.
Apart from the two leaders, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will also co-chair the summit.
The Bangladesh PM is expected to make a number of commitments to strengthen the peacekeeping operations, the foreign minister added.
Last week, Bangladesh saw a very important visit of UN Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, Department of Field Support Atul Khare.
Before leaving Dhaka, he showered praises on Bangladesh peacekeepers and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for their contributions to world peace and security.
Currently, (as of March 31) some 9,516 Bangladeshi peacekeepers are there in the UN missions - more than any other country in the world - while Pakistan is in the second position with 8,349 peacekeepers.
The main objective of his visit was to thank the government of Bangladesh for its significant contributions to the UN peacekeeping and discuss challenges and opportunities related to peace operations, including the UN Secretary General’s zero tolerance policy on sexual
exploitation and abuse.
Hasina will leave for New York on September 23 to attend the UN Sustainable Development Summit and 70th UN General Assembly.
She will lead a 60-member high-profile official delegation, including Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and Expatriate Welfare Minister Nurul Islam.
The entourage will also include prime minister’s advisers on political affairs, international affairs, economic affairs and the state minister for foreign affairs.
Hasina will address the UN Sustainable Development Summit on September 27 and UN General Assembly general debate on September 30. A business delegation will also join the Bangladesh delegation.
The PM in her speech is expected to highlight Bangladesh’s success stories in the MDGs and priority areas on SDGs.
