UN secretary general lauded Bangladesh’s tremendous progress
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres lauded Bangladesh`s tremendous progress, particularly in the areas of economic growth, resilience and risk management when foreign secretary Md. Shahidul Haque met him yesterday at United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA.
The meeting was held in a very cordial atmosphere. Secretary-General expressed his admiration about Bangladesh`s tremendous progress, particularly in the areas of economic growth, resilience and risk management, according to a message received today.
Referring to the threats of climate change, Secretary-General (SG) said that he wants to see Bangladesh in the frontline of the battle against climate change, as always. He also expressed hope that Bangladesh would be in the forefront of the implementation of SDGs.
The Secretary-General expressed his gratefulness to Bangladesh for its contribution to peacekeeping and peace building. As a major troop and police contributing country, he would be inviting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the `Circle of Leaders` meeting to be held during the upcoming General Assembly, the UN SG stated.
Foreign Secretary expressed Bangladesh`s abiding commitment to the values and principles of the UN and said that Bangladesh looks forward to his leadership to uphold the interest of developing countries.
He appreciated the Secretary-General`s priorities particularly on peace and stability. He shared with the Secretary-General the remarkable socio-economic development of Bangladesh taking place over the past eight years.
Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations, Ambassador Masud Bin Momen, Director General (UN) Sadia Faizunnesa and Deputy Permanent Representative of the Mission Tarek Md Ariful Islam were present in the meeting.
Yesterday morning, Foreign Secretary Md. Shahidul Haque delivered a statement at the High-Level Segment of the High-Level Debate on Transnational Organised Crime, organized by the President of the 71st session of the General Assembly, with the support of the Permanent Mission of Italy and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
In his statement, Foreign Secretary said, "Under the guidance of our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has been working with the international community to combat transnational organised crime. In the last few years, we have developed a fairly robust legal regime to proscribe and penalize various transnational criminal activities. Enhanced vigilance, interception and prosecution have reversed the trend in trafficking in persons and migrants` smuggling".
"We have established an independent Anti-Corruption Commission and empowered the institution. Our sustained initiatives at combating money laundering and financing of terrorism have been duly recognised by the international community", the Foreign Secretary added.
Foreign Secretary Haque underscored the importance of effective regional cooperation in combating illicit trafficking of drug, firearms, wildlife and cultural properties. He expressed concern over the spread of the dark web, often in the hands of terrorists and violent extremist elements.
In the evening, Foreign Secretary also attended a reception hosted by the Bangladesh Mission where he sought the support of member states for his re-election to the Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW).
Source: BSS
