Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reaches New York to attend UNGA

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reached the US city of New York to attend the 70th UN General Assembly.

The flight carrying her landed at the John F Kennedy Airport after 10pm New York local time on Wednesday.

Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN AKA Momen and the Bangladesh Ambassador to the US Mohammad Ziauddin received her at the airport.

She then went to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, where she will be staying during her US tour until Oct 1.

Hasina is leading a 60-member delegation on an 11-day tour. They will observe the Eid-ul-Azha in the US city.

Eid is being celebrated in the US on Thursday and Hasina is expected to join a reception at a New York hotel for NRBs.

“The prime minister will greet NRBs at the LaGuardia Airport Marriott Hotel. Only invited guests will be able to attend it,” said AKA Momen.

Hasina left Dhaka on Wednesday around 10am local time in a special Bangladesh Biman Flight to London.

After a three-hour stopover at the Heathrow Airport, she boarded a British Airways flight for New York.

This year marks the end of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

World leaders will meet in New York from Sep 25 to 27 to formulate the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the next 15 years.

Hasina is scheduled to address the SDG summit on the concluding day. Leaders of 150 countries are expected to attend.

Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali had earlier said on the sidelines of UNGA that Sheikh Hasina would also attend a high-level meeting on “peacekeeping” in New York on Sep 28.

She will co-chair a meet with US President Barack Obama.

During her stay in New York, she would be awarded the UN’s highest environmental honour - “Champions of the Earth” - and the International Telecommunication Organisation’s (ITU) award in recognition to Bangladesh’s progress in the IT sector.

She will address the UNGA on Sep 30 in Bangla.

The prime minister is also slated to attend a conference of world leaders on “Gender equality and empowerment of women” on Sep 27 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

She is also expected to address another conference convened by the US president on “Tackling violence extremism of IS”.

She will be the chief guest at an event to be organised by Bangladesh on the theme, “From MDG to SDG: Bangladesh’s experience and expectations”, onSep 29.

Leaders of various countries are expected to attend.

She will also address a forum “Girls lead the way” at Colombia University on Sep 25.

During her stay in New York, the prime minister is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with presidents of the US and China and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

She is scheduled to stay in New York until Oct 1.