The UN peacekeeping chief, Jean Pierre Lacroix, is expected to pledge to take more peacekeepers from Bangladesh during his upcoming visit on June 25-26.
His visit is part of the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial 2023, of which Bangladesh is a co-host along with Canada and Uruguay.
The UN Under Secretary General Department of Peace Operations (USG DPO) will attend the preparatory meeting.
The UN Peacekeeping Ministerial is the seminal high-level event for UN peacekeeping, held biennially with the participation of foreign and defence ministers.
Following the 2021 event hosted by South Korea, the 2023 Ministerial will be held in Accra, Ghana on December 5-6.
All member states represented in the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations will be invited to participate in this event, as well as a series of preparatory meetings to be held in the lead up to the Ministerial.
Bangladesh is currently the top contributor of uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping operations. At present, around 7,500 Bangladeshi peacekeepers are deployed on nine peacekeeping missions.
So far, 166 peacekeepers from Bangladesh have lost their lives while serving in UN peacekeeping operations, according to the Bangladesh mission in the UN.
“It is an encouraging and positive visit for us,” a senior official of the Foreign Ministry told Dhaka Tribune about Jean Pierre Lacroix's visit. “He can pledge to take more peacekeepers from Bangladesh.”
