Tarique Rahman leaves for New York for maiden UN General Assembly speech

Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman left for New York on Monday on a five-day visit during which he will address the UN General Assembly, attend high-level UN programmes, and hold bilateral and multilateral meetings.

Rahman is scheduled to deliver his maiden speech at the 81st session of the UNGA on September 24. With this, he will become the third member of his family to address the forum, after former president Ziaur Rahman and former prime minister Khaleda Zia.

His father Ziaur Rahman had addressed the UNGA in 1980, while his mother Khaleda Zia addressed it in 1993. “A Turkish Airlines flight is carrying the prime minister, his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman and other entourage members on a five-day tour to New York,” a PMO spokesman said.

Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Saleh Shibly said Rahman was expected to reach New York’s JFK Airport at 5:55 pm local time after a three-hour stopover in Istanbul. Earlier, Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam said the prime minister would attend a welcome breakfast hosted by UN Secretary-General António Guterres for heads of state and government on September 22 and then join other world leaders at the opening session of the UNGA.

Rahman will also attend a reception hosted by the US President in honour of heads of state and government and their spouses that evening. The next day, he is due to exchange views with representatives of international charitable and humanitarian organisations at a breakfast meeting.

On the same day, he will address a meeting on tackling the global inequality crisis, jointly organised by Brazil, South Africa, Norway and Spain, and join a high-level meeting titled “Climate Action and the Just Transition”, convened at the initiative of the UN Secretary-General. On September 24, apart from his UNGA speech, he will make opening remarks at a high-level meeting on the existential threats posed by sea-level rise. “He will also attend two important side events hosted by Bangladesh,” the foreign secretary said.

According to state-run BSS, on the sidelines of the UNGA, Rahman will hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Pakistan, Bhutan, Thailand, Croatia and Haiti, as well as the Crown Prince of Kuwait. He is also scheduled to meet the UN Secretary-General, the president of the European Council, the president of the World Bank Group, the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy on Myanmar, and several others.

Rahman’s five-day New York visit is centred on the UN General Assembly, with his address on September 24 set as the main event, alongside a series of high-level meetings and diplomatic engagements.