Bangladesh remains keen to work with international community: Shahriar Alam

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Wednesday said Bangladesh will continue to promote sustainable growth, solidarity, peace and justice.

He underscored Bangladesh's strong conviction that the SDG 16 on peace and inclusive societies is to be fully implemented globally to reap its benefits.

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 on peace, justice and inclusion breaks new ground in development thinking, he said.

"Bangladesh remains keen to work with the international community and the multilateral system to this end," Alam said, highlighting the guiding principles of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and peace-centric foreign policy.

The state minister called upon everyone to work together to unlock newer opportunities for a better and prosperous future for all including the generations ahead; leaving no one behind.

He was speaking as the chief guest at a programme on "UN Global Compact Network Bangladesh Sustainability Day 2022" held in a Dhaka hotel.

Farooq Sobhan, representative of the UN Global Compact Network Bangladesh GCNB), among others, spoke at the event marking the "Sustainability Day 2022".

The state minister said Bangladesh is strongly committed to achieve the sustainable development goals.

Before the pandemic, he said, Bangladesh has been right on track to implement the SDGs by 2030 and Bangladesh has undertaken a "whole of society" approach to accelerate the SDG implementation.

Even amid the pandemic, Bangladesh submitted the second Voluntary National Review (VNR) of SDGs in 2020.

"Now that we are aiming for a sustainable recovery from the impact of the pandemic, well-coordinated transformative actions are needed to restore our progress of SDGs implementation. We need to accelerate our efforts on all levels and by all stakeholders to fulfill the Agenda 2030," he said.

As one of the champions of the UN Secretary General's "Global Crisis Response Group (GCRG)", Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has also been working with other global leaders to chart a durable way out of the existing food and energy crisis situation due to conflicts worldwide, said the state minister.

He said that the "Partnership for Goals" is important for the successful implementation of SDGs and the SDG Goal 17 on international cooperation is crucial in this regard.

"To sustain our sustainable growth trajectory, we want to forge effective partnerships locally, regionally and internationally with development partners, civil societies and private sectors," said the state minister.