PM Hasina leaves for New York to attend UNGA

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has left for New York to attend the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). A Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight, carrying the prime minister, left for Abu Dhabi around 2pm on Saturday, according to local television channels. She will travel to New York from there by an Etihad flight on Sunday morning, according to the Prime Minister's Office, reports BSS. Bangladesh Ambassador to USA M Ziauddin and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to UN Masud Bin Momen will receive her in New York on Sunday afternoon. During her visit, the prime minister will stay at Hotel Grand Hyatt. Sheikh Hasina will address the UNGA in the afternoon on September 21 and have a bilateral meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres the same day. On September 18, she will attend a high-level meeting on UN Reforms to be hosted by US President Donald Trump and a high-level meeting on Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse at UN Headquarters. In the afternoon, the prime minister is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with her Bhutanese counterpart Tshering Tobgay before attending a high-level follow-up meeting on Global Deal for Decent Work and Inclusive Growth at Convene Conference Centre. On September 19, the prime minister along with other heads of state and government will join the official lunch to be hosted by UN secretary general. The lunch will be followed by a high-level roundtable of the UN Secretary General's High Level Panel on Women's Economic Empowerment for Leaving No One Behind. The prime minister will join the OIC Contact Group meeting on Rohingya Minorities at UNHQ in the afternoon. Later, she is likely to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth. In the evening, the prime minister will attend a reception for the Commonwealth Heads of State/Government to be hosted by British Prime Minister Theresa May and Prime Minister of Malta Dr Joseph Muscat, current Commonwealth Chair-in-Office. Sheikh Hasina will join a welcome reception of President Trump in the evening at Palace Hotel at Madison Avenue. Later, she will attend a reception of Bangladesh community. On September 20, the prime minister will attend the signing ceremony of the Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons at UNHQ and sign the treaty. Later, she is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia, at UNHQ. Prime Minister Hasina will attend a side event titled "SDG Implementation, Financing and Monitoring: Sharing innovations through South-South and Triangular Cooperation" to be organised by Bangladesh in partnership with UNDP and UN Office on South South Cooperation (UN-OSSC) at UNHQ. Later, the prime minister will attend the opening segment of a high-level side event titled "Creating a Policy Vision for SDG Finance: Facilitating Private Sector Investment in the SDGs" to be organised by Bangladesh and Canada in partnership with UNDP at UNHQ. Sheikh Hasina will attend a luncheon roundtable meeting to be organised by Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU). Later, the prime minister will hold a bilateral meeting with Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, UN Secretary General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development. The prime minister will attend a high-level open debate on UN Peacekeeping issues to be organised by Ethiopian delegation in its capacity as the President of UN Security Council for September 2017 at Security Council Chamber, UNHQ. Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to hold a meeting with Professor Claus Schwab, Executive Chairman of World Economic Forum and give an interview to Sadanand Dhume of Wall Street Journal. On September 21, President of IBM Virginia Marie Rometty will make a call on the prime minister before a bilateral meeting with Hasgim Thaci, President of Kosovo in her hotel. Later, the prime minister will join the 4th Meeting of the High-level Panel on Water at UNHQ. Later, the prime minister will hold a bilateral meeting with her Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba. Hasina will brief the press on her UN visit in the evening on September 21 at Permanent Mission of Bangladesh in New York. She will leave New York for Virginia by road on September 22. After staying in Virginia for a week, she will leave for home on September 29. The prime minister will return home on October 2.