Published : 23 Sep 2025, 04:22 PM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 01:50 PM
Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has reached New York to attend the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
A commercial flight of Emirates Airlines carrying the interim government head and his entourage landed at John F Kennedy International Airport at 3pm local time on Monday, state news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) reports.
Earlier, they had departed from Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka around 1:45am on Saturday, travelling to New York via Dubai.
This year, the chief adviser's delegation includes six politicians.
Among them, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman's Foreign Affairs Adviser Humayun Kabir, Jamaat-e-Islami deputy chief Abdullah Mohammad Taher, NCP Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain and Senior Joint Member Secretary Tasnim Jara joined the delegation from Dhaka.
In addition, Jamaat leader Nakibur Rahman Tarek, the son of the party’s former chief Motiur Rahman Nizami, joined the delegation from the United States.
This initiative by the interim prime minister to attend the UN session with leaders from major political parties is unprecedented in Bangladesh.
According to the schedule, Yunus will address the General Assembly session on Sept 26.
He will also participate in several high-level meetings and attend key global events.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the UN. The theme of this year's session is “Better Together: Eighty Years and More for Peace, Development, and Human Rights”.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Foreign Advisor Touhid Hossain detailed the chief advisor's visit to New York, saying this year's session is “particularly significant” for Bangladesh.
This is because on Sept 30, a high-level meeting will be held under the presidency of the UN General Assembly president to discuss the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minority groups in Myanmar.
“This is the first time such a high-level meeting has been organised at the UN General Assembly focusing on the Rohingya crisis,” he said.
Additionally, this year marks the 30th anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth and the 25th anniversary of the historic resolution on women, peace, and security.
The interim government head will participate in a high-level meeting on Sept 25 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth and speak at the General Debate of the session the following day.
The foreign advisor said, “In his address, it is expected that he will present to the world the reforms that have taken place in Bangladesh over the past year and the strong commitment to building a truly democratic political system through the upcoming elections.
“Furthermore, his speech will touch upon Bangladesh's strong position in peacekeeping operations to ensure international peace and security, global conflicts, the Rohingya crisis, climate change and its impacts, establishing climate justice, the challenges faced by developing countries in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), prevention of illicit financial flows, safe migration, access to basic services for migrants, sustainable technology transfer in the age of generative artificial intelligence, and the call for a ceasefire and lasting peace between Palestine and Israel.
On the sidelines, the chief adviser will also hold meetings with heads of government and state from various countries and will participate in a meeting with expatriate Bangladeshis.
He is scheduled to return to the country on Oct 2.
