UN secretary-general António Guterres has expressed his admiration about Bangladesh’s tremendous progress, particularly in the areas of economic growth, resilience and risk management.
Referring to the threats of climate change, the secretary-general said he wanted Bangladesh in the frontline of the battle against climate change, as always.
He also expressed hope that Bangladesh would be in the forefront of the implementation of SDGs.
The issues came up for discussion when foreign secretary of Bangladesh Md Shahidul Haque met the UN secretary-general at United Nations Headquarters on Monday, according to a message received in Dhaka from New York on Tuesday.
The secretary-general expressed his gratefulness to Bangladesh for its contribution to peacekeeping and peacebuilding.
As the head of the government of a major troop and police contributing country, he would be inviting prime minister Sheikh Hasina to the ‘Circle of Leaders’ meeting to be held during the upcoming General Assembly, António Guterres stated.
Foreign secretary expressed Bangladesh’s abiding commitment to the values and principles of the UN and said Bangladesh looked forward to his leadership to uphold the interests of developing countries.
He appreciated the secretary-general’s priorities particularly on peace and stability.
He also shared with the secretary-general the remarkable socio-economic development of Bangladesh taking place over the past eight years.
Permanent represent of Bangladesh to the United Nations, ambassador Masud Bin Momen, director general Sadia Faizunnesa and deputy permanent representative of the mission Tarek Md Ariful Islam were present in the meeting.
Earlier in the morning, the foreign secretary delivered a statement at the High-Level Segment of the High-Level Debate on Transnational Organised Crime, organised by the president of the 71st session of the General Assembly, with the support of the permanent mission of Italy and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
In his statement, the foreign secretary said, ‘Under the guidance of our prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has been working with the international community to combat transnational organised crime. In the last few years, we have developed a fairly robust legal regime to proscribe and penalise various transnational criminal activities. Enhanced vigilance, interception and prosecution have reversed the trend in trafficking in persons and migrants’ smuggling.’
‘We have established an independent Anti Corruption Commission and empowered the institution. Our sustained initiatives at combating money laundering and financing of terrorism have been duly recognised by the international community,’ the foreign secretary added.
Foreign secretary Haque underscored the importance of effective regional cooperation in combating illicit trafficking of drug, firearms, wildlife and cultural properties.
He expressed concern over the spread of the dark web, often in the hands of terrorists and violent extremist elements.
In the evening, foreign secretary also attended a reception hosted by the Bangladesh mission where he sought the support of member states for his re-election to the Committee on Migrant Workers.
Source: New Age
