Bangladesh reclaims top spot
Bangladesh has again emerged first for contributing the highest number of troops to the UN peacekeeping missions across the globe.
This was disclosed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during a meeting with President Abdul Hamid at the UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday.
Ban also highly praised Bangladeshi female police force stationed in the UN missions, and asked Hamid to send more female police force, if possible.
Talking to The Daily Star over the phone, Bangladesh Ambassador AK Abdul Momen said the UN secretary general informed the president that India retained the first position for some time.
"But Bangladesh regained its number one position in this month," Momen, also the permanent representative to the UN, quoted the UN chief as saying.
Currently, the number of Bangladesh military and police personnel in the missions is 8,810, including 214 female, he said.
India became second with 8,133 troops and Pakistan got the third position with 7,251.
Momen said the UN was considering recruiting one more battalion of peacekeepers from Bangladesh for deploying them in Central Africa.
The UN Under Secretary General Ameerah Haq also called on Hamid at his hotel suite.
Ameerah told him that the UN could accommodate more peacekeepers from Bangladesh if the country sends medical and engineering personnel.
At the meeting with the UN chief at the UN Headquarters, Hamid said the situation in Bangladesh was very stable, especially after the January 5 election, reports UNB.
"People have accepted the election results and they are looking forward to a better future," he said.
"A sense of relief prevails in public mind and they are least interested to have chaos and instability in the country," the president told Ban Ki-moon.
Hamid said Bangladesh greatly valued the UN secretary general's continuous attention towards development in Bangladesh.
Ban Ki-moon appreciated Bangladesh's progress in various sectors, especially in the fields of poverty reduction, reproductive healthcare system and disaster management.
The UN chief mentioned that he was going to arrange a climate summit at the UN soon. He lauded the leadership role of Bangladesh for raising voice against the adverse effects of climate change at different international forums.
Senior Secretary to the President's Office Sheikh Altaf Ali, Military Secretary to the President Maj Gen Abul Hossain and Press Secretary to the President Ihsanul Karim, among others, were present.
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