Hasina tells UN peacekeeping summit in NY
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday pledged to contribute well-trained infantry and police units to the UN peacekeeping missions.
“Bangladesh will provide training and skills to emerging TCCs [Troops contributing counties] with support from partners. We further pledge to contribute well-trained and self-sustained infantry units and formed police units, including all-female police units at shortest possible time,” she told a high-level summit on UN peacekeeping at the UN headquarters yesterday.
She said as a tested and a confident peacekeeper country, Bangladesh vows to build partnerships with countries needing critical enablers, personnel, force and mission, UNB reports.
Referring to Bangladesh Institute for Peace Support Operations and Training (BIPSOT), Hasina said her government has plans to turn the state-of-the-art institute into a global centre of excellence for training peacekeepers, especially women peacekeepers, from all over the world.
Bangladesh, she noted, has become a brand name in peace support operations for its utmost dedication and professionalism, and its high respect for religious, cultural and social values of the people it serves.
“Our commitment to peacekeeping is reaffirmed through the supreme sacrifice made by 119 of our valiant sons. To carry on their legacy, we’re currently working on a National Peacekeeping Strategy to pursue evolving pledges and capabilities to UN peacekeeping.”
The PM extended Bangladesh’s full support to the UN secretary general’s strategic review on peacekeeping.
“We value our partnership with the US and other co-hosts to carry our pledges forward,” she added.
PM FOR MORE US INVESTMENT
Sheikh Hasina urged the US investors to create a new business partnership to help Bangladesh become a middle income country.
“As we aspire to become a middle income country by 2021, I call upon the US entrepreneurs to create new business partnerships by investing more to take Bangladesh-US relations to newer heights,” she told a luncheon hosted by US Chamber and US Business Council at Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York on Thursday.
Terming the current $331 million US investment in Bangladesh much under its potential, she said, “We need more diverse group of US investors taking advantage of Bangladesh’s liberal investment policy … I would personally want to see these numbers go past the billion-dollar mark within the next three years.”
Hasina said her government created seven Exclusive Economic Zones for foreign investors.
“We have more than 80 million young energetic workforce available for industrial recruitment as labour and we also have 160 million consumers as your market.”
The current government, the premier said, is keen on increasing foreign investment in the booming shipbuilding and recycling sectors, chemical fertilisers, automobile and light engineering, agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, ceramic, plastic and jute goods, ICT, marine resources extraction, tourism, medical equipment and telecommunication.
The government, said Hasina, in last one year has made significant reforms to improve wages, health, safety standards and working condition of RMG workers. And it has recruited about 1,000 inspectors to oversee these.
PM INVITED TO SAARC SUMMIT
Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala invited Sheikh Hasina to the next Saarc Summit in Kathmandu in November, reports BSS.
Koirala extended the invitation when he met Hasina at the latter’s hotel suite in New York on Thursday afternoon.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Foreign Secretary Shahidul Huque said the two leaders discussed bilateral issues including increasing regional connectivity and use of Nepal’s hydroelectricity by Bangladesh.
Koirala requested Bangladeshi to establish a road link with Nepal.
In response, Hasina said a discussion was underway with India and hoped that a progress would be made in this regard.
PM AT C’WEALTH MEETING
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government on CHOGM Reform placed some proposals that include renaming the CHOGM summit as Commonwealth Summit, reducing the duration of retreat from three days to two days and making the joint communiqué more focused, businesslike and time-bound one.
Chaired by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the meeting was held at the UN headquarters in New York on Thursday.
Talking to newsmen after the meeting, Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque some of the PM’s proposals were accepted.
Meanwhile, the commonwealth leaders at the open-ended working group of Commonwealth heads of government discussed the issue of adopting the Commonwealth Statement on the Post-2015 Development Agenda and resource mobilisation for capacity building and implementation of the agenda.
Source: The Daily Star
