Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain announced on Saturday that Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus will lead a small delegation to New York to attend the UN General Assembly, traveling on a commercial flight instead of a chartered one.
During a press briefing ahead of the visit, the adviser emphasized the interim government's intention to break from the previous practice of sending large delegations to the UNGA sessions—a practice frequently criticized by the media.
The chief adviser will leave Dhaka on Monday and reach New York on Tuesday (Bangladesh time) to attend the 79th session of the UN General Assembly.
The foreign adviser further stated that, unlike in recent years, Bangladesh's delegation of over 100 members will not be traveling to New York on a chartered flight.
"Instead, the delegation has been formed in a more limited capacity based on relevance and responsibility," he said.
"I will be traveling to New York two days earlier on a different flight to attend high-level meetings in line with my duties."
The chief adviser will stay in New York for three days and depart for Bangladesh on September 27 after delivering his speech.
No meeting between Dr Yunus and Modi
There will be no meeting between Chief Adviser Dr Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the United Nations General Assembly.
The adviser mentioned that confirmed meetings for the chief adviser include those with the prime ministers of the Netherlands, Pakistan, and Nepal, the president of the European Commission, the US secretary of state, the UN secretary-general, the UN high commissioner for human rights, the president of the World Bank Group, and the administrator of USAID.
He also hinted that a few more meetings are in the pipeline and hoped to confirm those at the last minute.
When asked if there would be a meeting between the chief adviser and Modi, he replied: "Both of them will be in New York, but not at the same time. Modi will leave earlier, and our Chief Adviser will arrive later. Therefore, it seems unlikely that they will meet."
