We congratulate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on her successful visit to New York to attend the 70th session of the UN General Assembly.
Through her speeches at the landmark UN session which launched the Global Goals on sustainable development, she raised the profile of Bangladesh as a nation that is playing an ever-more important role on the world stage.
Bangladesh’s achievements in advancing development were recognised in a multiplicity of ways during the prime minister’s visit. She herself received two major awards as a UNEP Champion of the Earth and recipient of the “ICT Sustainable Development Award” recognising the forward-looking way in which Bangladesh has developed national policies to address climate change and further development by spreading new technology.
The summit also saw Bangladesh elected as chair of the LDC bloc at the United Nations for three years. These honours reflect growing global recognition of the many strides Bangladesh has been making in advancing women’s empowerment, furthering development, and in taking leadership in international forums.
Sheikh Hasina’s co-chairing of the Peacekeeping Operations summit with US President Barack Obama highlighted the valuable leadership Bangladesh shows on the world stage as the leading contributor of peacekeeping troops and police to UN missions.
It is also welcome that new announcements were made during the visit on plans to increase development of solar power generation in the country and further enhance progress on sustainable development.
Face-to-face talks are also an important dimension of global summits. We are heartened by the PM’s briefing to reporters that she had positive discussions on the Teesta water-sharing agreement with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while they were in New York.
We trust that Sheikh Hasina’s highly successful visit and the meetings she has had with other leaders will prove valuable in advancing Bangladesh’s global profile and in furthering both bilateral and multi-lateral relations