PM flies to NY today to attend 70th UNGA

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina leaves for New York today morning on an eight-day official visit to the United States to attend the 70th United Nations General Assembly.
A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the prime minister and members of her entourage is scheduled to take off at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 9:45am.
After nearly a three-hour stopover at Heathrow International Airport in London, she will fly to New York by a British Airways flight that will land at John F Kennedy International Airport at 10:00pm (NY time) on September 23.
After a reception at the JFK Airport, the prime minister will be taken to Hotel Waldorf Astoria New York in a ceremonial motorcade. She will stay at the hotel during her visit to the USA.
This year’s UNGA is being considered as very important for Bangladesh as the ‘Champions of the Earth’, the highest environment-related award of the UN, and the ‘ICTs in Sustainable Development Award’ of the international telecommunication union will be handed over to the Bangladesh prime minister.
Besides, the agreed sustainable development goals to be adopted during the 70th UNGA as it will succeed the millennium development goals that were forged in the year 2000. Countries like Bangladesh have made commendable progress in achieving most of the goals set in MDGs (2000-2015).
During her stay in New York, the prime minister along with other heads of state and the government will attend the opening session of the 70th UN General Assembly on September 28.
On the day, Sheikh Hasina will join a reception to be given by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon as well as a luncheon to be hosted in honour of the heads of state and government attending the assembly.
The prime minister will deliver her country speech in the general debate of the UNGA on September 30 and is expected to highlight issues like global peace and security, democracy, good governance, women empowerment, poverty eradication, right of migrant workers, climate change and achieving millennium development goals.
As in previous years, the prime minister will deliver her speech in Bangla following the one given by her father and the country’s founding president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in 1974.
Apart from attending the general debate of the UNGA, Hasina will join the high-level roundtable on South-South Cooperation to be held on September 26 at the UN Headquarters.
The following day, she will attend the ‘Global Leaders’ meeting on ‘Gender Equality hand Women’s Empowerment: A Commitment to Action’ at the invitation of Chinese president Xi Jinping.
On that day, the prime minister will co-chair an interactive dialogue titled ‘Fostering Sustainable Economic Growth, Transformation and Promoting Sustainable Consumption and Production’ with the prime minister of Belgium.
Besides, she will address the plenary session of the ‘UN Summit for the Adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda’ on September 27 highlighting Bangladesh’s priorities.
In her speech, Hasina is expected to reiterate the country’s commitment towards sustainable development targets and government activities to this end.
Besides, Hasina will be accorded a community reception by the expatriate Bangladeshis living in the USA at Hilton Midtown Hotel on September 27.
On September 28, Sheikh Hasina will co-chair the ‘High-Level Summit on Peacekeeping’ with US president Barack Obama and UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon.

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