News Desk

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman arrived in New York on Monday evening to attend the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), beginning a busy five-day diplomatic programme that includes bilateral meetings, high-level discussions on global issues and his address to the UN General Debate.

A Turkish Airlines flight carrying the prime minister, his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman and members of his entourage landed at John F Kennedy International Airport at 6:20pm New York time after a stopover in Istanbul, Prime Minister’s Deputy Press Secretary Jahidul Islam Rony told BSS.

The prime minister was received at the airport by Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York Irene Zubaida Khan and Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States Tareq Md Ariful Islam.

From the airport, Tarique Rahman travelled by motorcade to the Hyatt Grand Central New York, where he is scheduled to stay during his visit.

Bangladeshi expatriates and leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) gathered outside the airport and along the roads leading to the hotel to welcome the prime minister. They carried banners, posters and festoons and chanted slogans as his motorcade passed through the city.

Members of the Bangladeshi community waved at the prime minister, who responded by waving back as the motorcade made its way to the hotel.

Jackson Heights, one of the major centres of the Bangladeshi community in New York, was also decorated with banners, posters and festoons ahead of the prime minister’s arrival.

Tarique Rahman is scheduled to deliver Bangladesh’s national address at the UN General Debate on September 24. His speech is scheduled for around 5:30pm New York time, although the timing may change. He has been allotted 15 minutes for the address.

His programme began on September 22 with a welcome breakfast hosted by UN Secretary-General António Guterres for heads of state and government and their spouses at UN Headquarters.

He is also scheduled to attend the opening session of the 81st UNGA and participate in a series of bilateral and courtesy meetings with international leaders and senior officials.

Among those he is scheduled to meet are Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, World Bank Group President Ajay Banga and Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé.

The prime minister’s engagements also include meetings with UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Myanmar Julie Bishop, European Council President António Costa, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and Meta Platforms’ Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan.

In the evening, Tarique Rahman and his wife are scheduled to attend a reception hosted by the US president for heads of state and government and their spouses.

On September 23, the prime minister will attend a breakfast meeting with representatives of international charitable and humanitarian organisations at the Bangladesh Permanent Mission to the UN.

The Rohingya crisis will feature prominently in his engagements that day. He is scheduled to participate in a high-level side event titled “The Rohingya Crisis: A Renewed Call for a Durable Solution from Protracted Displacement, with Justice and Accountability.”

He will also participate in a high-level meeting on “Climate Action and the Just Transition” at UN Headquarters and hold a bilateral meeting with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

Boeing Global President Dr Brendan Nelson is also scheduled to meet the prime minister at his hotel. A signing ceremony involving representatives of the Bangladesh government is expected to take place during the visit as well.

September 24 will be a particularly significant day in the prime minister’s UNGA schedule. He will attend a high-level meeting on the existential threats posed by sea-level rise and deliver the opening remarks.

He is also scheduled to meet Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif for bilateral discussions.

Later, he will participate in a high-level event titled “From Commitment to Action: Integrating Midwifery into Primary Health Care to End Preventable Maternal and Newborn Deaths,” where he is scheduled to deliver the opening remarks.

Tarique Rahman will also hold meetings with UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul before attending the general debate of the 81st UNGA.

Following his UNGA address, the prime minister will attend a dinner hosted in his honour by Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN at the Bangladesh Permanent Mission.

His New York programme will continue on September 25 with a breakfast meeting with representatives of Wall Street hosted by JPMorgan at its Manhattan headquarters.

He will later hold a bilateral meeting with Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. A lunch meeting with Prince Zeid Al Hussein, president of the International Peace Institute, is also scheduled.

Before leaving the United States, the prime minister is expected to meet BNP leaders in the country.

Tarique Rahman is scheduled to leave New York for Dhaka at 11:00pm on September 25 on Emirates flight EK202, travelling via Dubai. He is expected to arrive in Dhaka on September 27.

The visit brings together a wide range of diplomatic and multilateral engagements, covering issues including the Rohingya crisis, climate change, sea-level rise, maternal and newborn health, international development and Bangladesh’s bilateral relations with several countries.