Hasina, Obama to co-chair peace summit in New York Sept 28

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, said Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali.

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, UNB reports.

Prime Minister Hasina is expected to make a number of commitments to strengthen the peacekeeping operations, the Foreign Minister told reporters on Thursday.

Last week, Bangladesh witnessed a very important visit of UN Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, Department of Field Support Atul Khare.

Before leaving Dhaka on Tuesday evening, he showered praises on Bangladesh peacekeepers and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for their extremely important contributions to world peace and security.

Currently, (as of March 31, 2015) some 9516 Bangladeshi peacekeepers are there in the UN missions – more than any other country in the world – while Pakistan is in the second position with 8349 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.

Sheikh Hasina will leave for New York on September 23 to attend the UN Sustainable Development Summit and 70th UN General Assembly. The Prime Minister will be staying in New York till October 1.

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 BSc.

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 UNGA general debate on September 30. A business delegation will also join the Bangladesh delegation.

The Prime Minister in her speech is expected to highlight Bangladesh success stories in the MDGs and priority areas on SDGs.