UN chief praises Bangladesh's 'development and humanity'

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has heaped praise on Bangladesh for its 'miraculous' development success and humanitarian contributions.

His remarks came during a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the UN headquarters in New York on Thursday.

Later, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen briefed the media at the Lotte New York Palace hotel. "He (the UN secretary-general) praised Bangladesh for its development on many fronts and for its humanity."

When the Bangladesh leader arrived at the meeting venue, the UN chief said, "Welcome to your home."

"This is because Bangladesh is very closely involved with the United Nations and its success is a matter of great pride for the United Nations," said Momen.

"Bangladesh is a success story of the United Nations. ”

Guterres also lauded the leadership of Hasina for Bangladesh's success while the prime minister underlined the hardships the South Asian country has had to face along the way.

The foreign minister also underscored Bangladesh's 'top' role in UN peacekeeping missions. At the same time, he pointed out that all the projects undertaken by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have also been completed.

"The UNDP has helped us and provided technical assistance. But we showed them the way to get to people's doorsteps.

"These are the fruits of Sheikh Hasina's innovations. The United Nations has helped us and in this process, the organisation is also proud to have been involved in good deeds. The United Nations now sees a poverty-stricken Bangladesh as a strong economy.”

The United Nations "respects" Bangladesh for its socio-economic progress, according to Momen. “Bangladesh is leading various UN agencies. Besides, the relationship between Bangladesh and the United Nations is a very close one. Bangladesh has been playing an important role since it became a member of the United Nations in 1974.”

Momen attributed Bangladesh's leadership, especially that of Hasina, to many of the UN's achievements.

The prime minister also highlighted Bangladesh's involvement in various UN initiatives while pointing out that there aren't many Bangladeshis in leadership positions within the organisation. In response, Guterres said he would look into the matter.

Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN Rabab Fatima said, "He (the UN secretary-general) has said the organisation and Bangladesh share some of the same priorities, whether it is climate change, financing or implementing SDGs."

Hasina later held bilateral meetings with Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Salih and Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc.