PM Hasina arrives in New York to join UN General Assembly

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has arrived in New York on an eight-day visit to attend the 74th UN General Assembly.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 23 Sept 2019, 04:56 AM
Updated : 23 Sept 2019, 04:56 AM

She reached John F Kennedy International Airport at 4:15pm (NY time) on Sunday, aboard a flight of Etihad Airways.

Bangladesh Ambassador to US Mohammad Ziauddin and Bangladesh Ambassador to UN and Permanent Representative Masud Bin Momen greeted the premier at the airport.

Local Awami League leaders greeted her with flowers after she reached the Lotte New York Palace hotel from the airport. She will be staying at the hotel for the duration of her trip.

In addition to addressing the UN General Assembly, Hasina is expected to meet with the heads of different states, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the UN Secretary General.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has already informed reporters that the prime minister will be given two global awards in this trip.

The Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunisation will award her as ‘Vaccine Hero’ for the outstanding success of Bangladesh in immunisation.

UNICEF will organise an event honouring the prime minister. She will receive ‘Champion of skill development for youth’ award during the event scheduled for Sep 26.

Hasina will deliver a speech at the UNGA on Sep 27.

The theme of this year’s assembly is ‘galvanising multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion’.

On the sidelines of the event, the prime minister will also attend some programmes related to universal health coverage, climate action summit 2019, Global Commission on Adaptation, OIC’s event on the Rohingya situation, high-level meeting on ‘leadership matters- relevance of Mahatma Gandhi in the contemporary world’, and high-level political forum on SDGs.

She is also expected to attend an event on comprehensive primary care inclusive of mental health and disabilities.

In the general assembly speech, Hasina will highlight Bangladesh’s socio-economic development and make “specific proposals” on Rohingya issue based on her previous proposals.

The foreign ministers of Bangladesh and Myanmar can sit on the sidelines to discuss Rohingya issue mediated by China, said the foreign minister on a question.

The prime minister will give interview to Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post during the visit.