PM off to London en route to NY to join 73rd UNGA

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DHAKA, Sept 21, 2018 (BSS) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left here for
London this morning en route to New York on a weeklong official visit to the
United States to attend the 73rd Session of the United Nations (UN) General
Assembly.

A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the premier took off
from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport here for London at 10:20 am.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, Road
Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Civil Aviation and Tourism
Minister AKM Shahjahan Kamal, PM’s Adviser HT Imam, Jatiya Sangsad Chief Whip
ASM Feroze, the cabinet secretary, the chiefs of the three services and high
civil and military officials were present at the airport to see the premier
off.

The flight is scheduled to arrive at Heathrow Airport in London at 3:55 pm
local time today.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK Nazmul Qaunine will receive the
premier at the airport.

The prime minister will address the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly
at the UN Headquarters in New York in the evening (local time) on September
27 and hold a meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on the same
day.

On the sidelines of the UNGA, she will also hold bilateral meetings with
a number of world leaders, including Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid and
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Sheikh Hasina will attend a Welcome Reception to be hosted by US President
Donald J Trump, while US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to call
on her.

This year’s theme of the general debate is ‘Making the United Nations
relevant to all people: Global leadership and shared responsibilities for
peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies’.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will place some specific proposals at the UNGA
in continuation of her previous five-point proposal for resolving the
Rohingya crisis, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali told a press conference at
the Foreign Ministry here on Thursday.

After making nearly two-day stopover in the British capital, the prime
minister will leave London for New York on Sunday morning by a British
Airways flight.

The flight is scheduled to reach Newark Liberty International Airport, New
Jersey, at 1:40 pm local time.

Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA Mohammad Ziauddin and Bangladesh
Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN Masud Bin Momen will
welcome the premier at the airport.

After the reception at the airport, a ceremonial motorcade will escort the
prime minister to Hotel Grand Hyatt New York, where she will be staying
during her visit to the USA.

On the first day of her visit to the USA, Sheikh Hasina will attend a
reception to be accorded to her by the Bangladesh community in the United
States at Hotel New York Hilton Midtown in the evening.

Apart from the Rohingya issue, the Prime Minister will also discuss world
peace, safe migration, the rights of Palestine people, women empowerment and
climate change, the foreign minister said.

“She will also present Bangladesh’s different socioeconomic advancements,
including establishment of digital Bangladesh and the country’s ongoing
democratic process to world leaders,” he said.

During the UNGA, Mahmood Ali said, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will
receive two awards.

He said Inter Press Service (IPS), a global news agency, will give its
prestigious ‘International Achievement Award’ to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
for her dynamic and farsighted leadership in addressing Rohingya crisis while
Global Hope Coalition will confer her ‘2018 Special Recognition for
Outstanding Leadership Award’.

The prime minister will return home in the morning on October 1 via
London, PM’s press secretary said.