UN chief attends meeting with Consensus Commission, political leaders
Guterres later joined a dialogue with youths and a meeting with members of civil society as well at InterContinental Dhaka
Highlights:
- Guterres meets Consensus Commission, political leaders
- BNP's Fakhrul, Salahuddin attended meeting
- Law adviser, heads of reform commissions joined
- Leaders of NCP, Jamaat, other political parties attended
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres joined a roundtable discussion with members of the National Consensus Commission, leaders of different political parties, and other stakeholders this afternoon (15 March).
The discussion took place at InterContinental Dhaka, said the Chief Adviser's Press Wing.
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UN Under Secretary General Rabab Fatima, Bangladesh's Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Asif Nazrul, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed, and representatives of other political parties, Prof Ali Riaz, Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Badiul Alam Majumdar, and UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis were, among others, present at the dialogue.
The meeting was also attended by leaders of National Citizen Party, Jamaat-e-Islami, and AB Party, among others.
Guterres later joined a dialogue with youths and a meeting with members of civil society at the same venue later in the afternoon.
The UN chief and Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain are scheduled to attend a joint press briefing at 5:20pm at InterContinental Dhaka.
Earlier on the day, the UN chief reiterated that the UN will continue to provide support to Bangladesh over the Rohingya issue.
He made the assurance while speaking at a function at the new UN building at Gulshan in the capital this morning.
Guterres recalled the contribution of Bangladeshi peacekeepers to the UN peace missions, saying that they are playing an important role in this regard.
He also discussed the reform initiatives by the Bangladesh interim government.
Guterres visited the new UN Common Premises in Gulshan to view a photo exhibition arranged to mark the 50th anniversary of the UN-Bangladesh relations and to hoist the official UN flag.
The visit followed the meeting with the UN country team in Bangladesh.
Guterres and Adviser for Industries, Housing and Public Works Adilur Rahman Khan jointly inaugurated the "UN House in Bangladesh" at Gulshan.
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan and UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis, among others, were present.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres arrived in Bangladesh on a four-day visit at the invitation of Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Thursday afternoon (13 March).
On Friday morning (14 March), the UN secretary general met with the chief adviser at his office. After the meeting, they departed for Cox's Bazar on the same plane, where they visited the Rohingya refugee camps and joined an iftar event with around 100,000 Rohingyas.
Prior to the meeting with the CA, Guterres met with the foreign affairs adviser and discussed Bangladesh's ongoing changes and reform process. Guterres expressed gratitude for the close cooperation between the UN and Bangladesh and for Bangladesh's generosity toward Rohingya refugees.
The UN secretary general also thanked Bangladesh for its strong commitment to peacekeeping.
Khalilur Rahman, the chief adviser's high representative for Rohingya issues, also met with the UN chief and discussed issues related to the Rohingya crisis.
According to a UN message, the secretary general and CA's high representative discussed the situation in Myanmar's Rakhine state and the upcoming high-level conference on Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar.
