PM in Dubai en-route to New York

Hasina to plead for global help over Rohingya crisis at UNGA

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina headed for the UN General Assembly yesterday to plead for global help coping with the Rohingya crisis, as the numbers seeking refuge in her country following a crackdown in Myanmar topped 400,000, report agencies. "Sheikh Hasina will raise the Rohingya issue during her speech at the UN General Assembly. She will seek immediate cessation of violence in Rakhine state in Myanmar and ask the UN secretary general to send a fact-finding missing to Rakhine," a spokesman for the prime minister, Nazrul Islam, told AFP. "She will also call the international community and the UN to put pressure on Myanmar for the repatriation of all the Rohingya refugees to their homeland in Myanmar," he said. The prime minister is to address the UN assembly on Thursday.

Sheikh Hasina will address the UNGA on the afternoon of September 21. On the same day, she will hold a bilateral meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. She reached Abu Dhabi, UAE, yesterday afternoon. A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the Prime Minister and her entourage landed at Abu Dhabi International Airport in the UAE capital at 4:40 pm (local time), PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said.

Bangladesh Ambassador to the UAE Muhammad Imran received the Prime Minister at the airport.

Earlier, the VVIP flight of Biman carrying the Prime Minister and her entourage departed Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 2:10 pm (BST) for Abu Dhabi.

After making a stopover, Sheikh Hasina will then leave Abu Dhabi for New York by an Etihad Airways flight on Sunday morning at 10:15 am (local time).

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Deputy Leader of the House Sayeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Chief Whip ASM Firoz, PM’s Media Adviser Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam, then Cabinet Secretary and the chiefs of the three services saw the Prime Minister off at Dhaka airport.

Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA M Ziauddin and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to UN Masud Bin Momen will receive her at the airport in New York on Sunday afternoon.

From the airport, Hasina will go to Hotel Grand Hyatt in New York where she will be staying during her tour. The prime minister left a day after her government summoned the Myanmar envoy for the third time to protest over its neighbour’s actions. Her office said Hasina would demand more pressure on Myanmar during talks in New York. Bangladesh has been overwhelmed by Rohingya Muslims since violence erupted in Buddhist-dominated Myanmar’s Rakhine state on August 25.

The United Nations said Saturday that the total number of people to have entered Bangladesh having fled the unrest had now reached 409,000, a leap of 18,000 in a day.

Conditions are worsening in the border town of Cox’s Bazar where the influx has added to pressures on Rohingya camps already overwhelmed with 300,000 people from earlier refugee waves.

Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmood Ali earlier told reporters: “We will continue international pressure on the Myanmar government to immediately end its ongoing ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya,” he added.

On September 18, the Prime Minister will attend a high-level meeting on UN Reform to be hosted by US President Donald Trump.

She will also attend high-level meetings on Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse at the UN Headquarters (UNHQ) and High-Level Follow-up Meeting of 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 the 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.

She will join the OIC Contact Group meeting on Rohingya Minorities at the UNHQ in the afternoon.

In the evening, Hasina will attend a reception for the Commonwealth heads of state and government to be hosted by British Prime Minister Theresa May and Prime Minister of Malta Dr Joseph Muscat, the current Commonwealth Chair-in-Office.

She will join a welcome reception of US President Donald Trump in the evening at Palace Hotel at Madison Avenue.

Later, the Prime Minister will attend a reception to be hosted by the Bangladesh community at New York Marriot Marquis.

On September 20, she will attend the signing ceremony of the Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons at the UNHQ.

Hasina is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia at the UNHQ.

She 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 the UNHQ.

After that, 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 the UNHQ.

She will attend a luncheon roundtable meeting to be arranged by Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU). Later, Hasina 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 of the UNHQ.

She is scheduled to hold a meeting with Prof 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 meet Hasina before a bilateral meeting with Hasgim Thaci, President of Kosovo, at her hotel. Later, she will join the 4th Meeting of the High-level Panel on Water at the UN head office. Later, the Prime Minister will hold a bilateral meeting with her Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba.

She will brief the press on her UN visit in the evening on September 21 at the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh in New York. Hasina 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 and return home on October 2.

PM in Dubai en-route to New York

Hasina to plead for global help over Rohingya crisis at UNGA

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina headed for the UN General Assembly yesterday to plead for global help coping with the Rohingya crisis, as the numbers seeking refuge in her country following a crackdown in Myanmar topped 400,000, report agencies. Sheikh Hasina will raise the Rohingya issue during her speech at the UN General Assembly. She will seek immediate cessation of violence in Rakhine state in Myanmar and ask the UN secretary general to send a fact-finding missing to Rakhine, a spokesman for the prime minister, Nazrul Islam, told AFP. She will also call the international community and the UN to put pressure on Myanmar for the repatriation of all the Rohingya refugees to their homeland in Myanmar, he said. The prime minister is to address the UN assembly on Thursday. Sheikh Hasina will address the UNGA on the afternoon of September 21. On the same day, she will hold a bilateral meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. She reached Abu Dhabi, UAE, yesterday afternoon. A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the Prime Minister and her entourage landed at Abu Dhabi International Airport in the UAE capital at 4:40 pm (local time), PMs Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said. Bangladesh Ambassador to the UAE Muhammad Imran received the Prime Minister at the airport. Earlier, the VVIP flight of Biman carrying the Prime Minister and her entourage departed Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 2:10 pm (BST) for Abu Dhabi. After making a stopover, Sheikh Hasina will then leave Abu Dhabi for New York by an Etihad Airways flight on Sunday morning at 10:15 am (local time). Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Deputy Leader of the House Sayeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Chief Whip ASM Firoz, PMs Media Adviser Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam, then Cabinet Secretary and the chiefs of the three services saw the Prime Minister off at Dhaka airport. Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA M Ziauddin and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to UN Masud Bin Momen will receive her at the airport in New York on Sunday afternoon. From the airport, Hasina will go to Hotel Grand Hyatt in New York where she will be staying during her tour. The prime minister left a day after her government summoned the Myanmar envoy for the third time to protest over its neighbours actions. Her office said Hasina would demand more pressure on Myanmar during talks in New York. Bangladesh has been overwhelmed by Rohingya Muslims since violence erupted in Buddhist-dominated Myanmars Rakhine state on August 25. The United Nations said Saturday that the total number of people to have entered Bangladesh having fled the unrest had now reached 409,000, a leap of 18,000 in a day. Conditions are worsening in the border town of Coxs Bazar where the influx has added to pressures on Rohingya camps already overwhelmed with 300,000 people from earlier refugee waves. Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmood Ali earlier told reporters: We will continue international pressure on the Myanmar government to immediately end its ongoing ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, he added. On September 18, the Prime Minister will attend a high-level meeting on UN Reform to be hosted by US President Donald Trump. She will also attend high-level meetings on Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse at the UN Headquarters (UNHQ) and High-Level Follow-up Meeting of 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 the Secretary General. The lunch will be followed by a high-level roundtable of the UN Secretary Generals High-Level Panel on Womens Economic Empowerment for Leaving No One behind. She will join the OIC Contact Group meeting on Rohingya Minorities at the UNHQ in the afternoon. In the evening, Hasina will attend a reception for the Commonwealth heads of state and government to be hosted by British Prime Minister Theresa May and Prime Minister of Malta Dr Joseph Muscat, the current Commonwealth Chair-in-Office. She will join a welcome reception of US President Donald Trump in the evening at Palace Hotel at Madison Avenue. Later, the Prime Minister will attend a reception to be hosted by the Bangladesh community at New York Marriot Marquis. On September 20, she will attend the signing ceremony of the Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons at the UNHQ. Hasina is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia at the UNHQ. She 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 the UNHQ. After that, 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 the UNHQ. She will attend a luncheon roundtable meeting to be arranged by Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU). Later, Hasina will hold a bilateral meeting with Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, UN Secretary Generals 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 of the UNHQ. She is scheduled to hold a meeting with Prof 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 meet Hasina before a bilateral meeting with Hasgim Thaci, President of Kosovo, at her hotel. Later, she will join the 4th Meeting of the High-level Panel on Water at the UN head office. Later, the Prime Minister will hold a bilateral meeting with her Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba. She will brief the press on her UN visit in the evening on September 21 at the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh in New York. Hasina 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 and return home on October 2.