Published : 22 Sep 2026, 09:52 AM
Updated : 22 Sep 2026, 09:52 AM
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has arrived in New York to attend the 81st UN General Assembly session.
Bangladesh’s head of government landed at John F Kennedy International Airport at 6:30pm local time on Monday, Deputy Press Secretary Jahidul Islam Rony said.
Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN Irene Khan and Ambassador to the US Tareq Md Ariful Islam received Tarique and his wife Zubaida Rahman at the VIP lounge of Terminal 1.
After airport formalities, a motorcade escorted the prime minister from Terminal 1 to the Grand Hyatt New York hotel, where he will stay during the US visit.
BNP leaders and activists holding national flags greeted the prime minister with slogans at the hotel entrance.
Earlier outside Terminal 8, BNP leaders, activists, and supporters lined one side of the road, waving national flags and portraits while shouting welcoming slogans.
Awami League leaders and supporters held a protest on the opposite side of the road.
The prime minister left Dhaka for New York on a Turkish Airlines flight early on Monday Bangladesh time.
After a two-and-a-half-hour stopover in Istanbul, he reached New York in the evening.
This is Tarique’s first US visit since he took charge of the government on Feb 17.
He previously visited Malaysia and China in June.
Schedule
On Tuesday morning New York time, Tarique will attend a breakfast hosted by the UN secretary-general for heads of state and government, followed by the opening ceremony of this year's session alongside other world leaders.
That evening, he will attend a reception hosted by US President Donald Trump in honour of heads of state and government and their spouses.
On Sept 23, he will hold a breakfast meeting with representatives of international charities and humanitarian organisations.
He will then speak at a session on tackling the global inequality crisis, organised by Brazil, South Africa, Norway and Spain.
That afternoon, he will attend a high-level meeting on “Climate Action and the Just Transition”, organised by the UN secretary-general.
Outlining Tarique's participation in two key side events organised by Bangladesh, Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam said he would attend a side event on the Rohingya crisis on Sept 23, where he will call for effective support from the international community to repatriate Rohingya refugees to Myanmar as swiftly as possible.
Tarique will then deliver his address to the assembly on the afternoon of Sept 24.
Like his predecessors, he will speak in Bangla, the foreign secretary said.
At a media briefing on Sunday, Siam said: "In his speech, [the prime minister] will highlight Bangladesh's democratic renewal, rule of law and accountability, global peace and security, climate change, sustainable development, economic cooperation, youth and women's empowerment, education and health, the Rohingya crisis, equitable use of modern technology, and reform of the multilateral system."
On Sept 24, the prime minister will deliver the opening address at a high-level meeting on existential threats posed by rising sea levels, at the invitation of the session's president and Bangladesh's foreign minister.
Alongside the summit, he will hold bilateral meetings with top leaders from several countries.
Meetings with the crown prince of Kuwait and the prime ministers of Croatia, Bhutan, Thailand, Pakistan and Haiti have been finalised.
He is also scheduled to meet UN Secretary-General António Guterres, European Council President António Costa, the president of the World Bank Group, the UN secretary-general's special envoy on Myanmar, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the president of the International Peace Institute.
As part of economic diplomacy, his schedule also includes meetings with top representatives from Wall Street, Meta and other business entities, the foreign secretary said.
The prime minister is scheduled to leave for Bangladesh on the night of Sept 25.
