Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury said yesterday the participation of Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed at the forthcoming session of UN General Assembly will “raise Bangladesh's international profile.”
He said: “Bangladesh's plays a peaceful, constructive and stabilising role in the international arena, and indeed the world expects Bangladesh to play a significant role in this most important annual multilateral event of global diplomacy.”
The CA's programme of participation has been drawn up bearing these points in mind, he said.
He said: “Bangladesh is widely seen as a success story in positive socio-economic transformation of its people. We are chair of the least developed countries and in this capacity is the spokesman of 50 nations of the world.
“We are also an acknowledged thought-leader in the climate change debate. We are a consistent top contributor to UN peacekeeping operations. All these render our participation at the highest level very important.”
Iftekhar said besides having a one-on-one meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the chief adviser would address the General Assembly on September 26. He will attend a high level event on Millennium Development Goals and also meetings on Africa's Development Needs, Commonwealth Heads of Government, and on Malaria.
The CA will hold bilateral meetings with a number of important leaders, including Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda), and will attend a number of receptions and dinners, including one hosted by President Bush, Iftekhar informed.
“It is a light programme but one that reflects Bangladesh's key role in that body,” he said.
Apart from these events, he will interact widely with the media, including with the vibrant Bangladeshi press in New York.
He will also be interviewed by the BBC, Al-Jazeera and the TIME Magazine.
“There is a great interest in the peaceful political transition in Bangladesh itself, and the programme responds to that as well,” said Iftekhar.