DHAKA, Sept 06, 2018 (BSS) – Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali today expected that the World Food Program (WFP) would continue to play its pro-active and substantive role in the safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar as its Country Director Richard Ragan presented his credentials to him here.
Welcoming Ragan to Bangladesh, the foreign minister also deeply appreciated WFP’s immediate response in providing food assistance to the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals who took shelter in Bangladesh territory being the worst victims of the Myanmar military atrocities at their Rakhine state homeland.
During the meeting, Mahmood Ali highly appreciated the role of WFP as the world’s largest humanitarian agency in fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.
Wishing the new country director a successful tenure in Bangladesh, the minister assured the WFP country representative here of providing all out support from his government.
In response, the new country director expressed hope that the relations between Bangladesh and the WFP will be strengthened through enhanced engagements in the days to come.
The new WFP Representative Richard Ragan, an American national, had a long working experience with WFP prior to his assignment in Dhaka. He served at WFP Offices in Nepal, North Korea and Zambia in various capacities.
He also served in the United Nations Ebola Emergency Response Team as Director of Operations and UNWFP as Emergency Coordinator for the 2015 Nepal earthquake response.