DHAKA, Sept 21, 2020 (BSS) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will highlight issues, including the Rohingya crisis and equal global distribution of potential COVID-19 vaccine at affordable cost, at the high level session of the 75th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to be started virtually from Monday in New York (Tuesday morning in Bangladesh time).
“Our Honourable Prime Minister will deliver her pre-recorded speech like other world leaders at the UNGA general debate on September 26 in Bangla like every year,” said Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen at a curtain raiser virtual press briefing today.
He said the Prime Minister will urge the international community to continue
their stand and efforts in resolving the protracted Rohignya issue in line with her four-point proposal that she had placed before the 74th UNGA last year regarding a durable solution of the crisis.
Momen said that the Premier would also highlight matters related to global COVID situation, equal distribution of potential vaccine and pandemic impact on migrant workers and remittance while she will raise voice on climate issues as the President of Calamite Vulnerable Forum (CVF).
Besides, he said, the Prime Minister will also highlight Bangladesh’s successes in containing COVID-19, SDG implementation, establishing women empowerment and rights, poverty elevation, anti-terrorism and anti-drug trafficking, economic advancement, sustainable democracy and good governance and maintenance of world peace.
For the first time in the UN’s 75-year history, the global leaders are set to meet virtually at the annual high-level session of the world’s apex platform due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has so far infected over 30 million people and killed more than 950,000 globally.
As like Sheikh Hasina, other heads of states and governments of UN member countries will also deliver pre-recorded speeches at the general debate and other sideline events at the UNGA under theme – ‘The future we want, the United Nations we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism.’
The UNGA’s high-level session will be held on Monday evening in New York titled ‘Mark the 75th Anniversary of United Nations” where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to deliver speech at 4 am (Dhaka time) tomorrow morning.
Apart from general debate and high-level sessions, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will also virtually participate in and deliver speeches at five other sideline events, Momen said.
On September 23, the Bangladesh premier will join at the meeting titled “High-level Dialogue on Digital Cooperation: Action Today for Future Generations” to discuss the ways forward for building a safe-technology based world for the new generation.
On September 24, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, as the CVF president will join a meeting titled “High Level Roundtable on Climate Action”, to be organized by the UN Secretary General.
At the meeting, the Bangladesh premier will highlight the issues like increasing global partnership in tackling adverse effects of climate change, restraining the global warming within 1.5 degree Celsius, providing pledged funding to climate vulnerable countries and rehabilitation of climate refugee.
On September 29, Sheikh Hasina will join a meeting titled “High-level event on Financing for Development (FFD) in the era of COVID-19 and beyond” where she is likely to describe various initiatives taken by the Bangladesh government to recover economic fallouts due to the pandemic as well as to raise the issue related to migrant workers and remittance wreaked by COVID-19.
On September 30, the Prime Minister is scheduled to attend the “Summit on iodiversity” while she will join the “High-level meeting to mark the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for action (Beijing +25)” on October 1.
Sheikh Hasina is expected to highlight Bangladesh’s tremendous achievement in women empowerment and reduction of gender discrimination at the October 1 meeting that will be held under the theme – ‘Accelerating the realization of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls’.
Besides, the premier, the Bangladesh foreign minister will also attend numbers of events including “High-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons”.
State minister for foreign affairs Md Shahriar Alam and foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen are also scheduled to attend some virtual sideline events.