DHAKA, Dec 13, 2021 (BSS) - Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury has

received the United Nations Public Service Award-2020 on behalf of the Land
Ministry.

   The Ministry of Land is the first agency or organisation in Bangladesh to
receive the UN Public Service Award, said a press release here today.

   Saifuzzaman received the award at the United Nations Public Service Awards
Ceremony jointly organised by the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations
Department of Economic and Social Affairs at the Madinat Jumeirah Conference
Center at 10:30 am local time on Monday in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

   On the occasion, Land Secretary Md. Mustafizur Rahman was also present.

   The e-Mutation system has been implemented under the Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina's special initiative 'Digital Bangladesh', said the land minister
after receiving the award.

   Saifuzzaman said the United Nations Public Service Award will encourage
Bangladesh to more vivaciously carry out its initiative to automate the
entire land management system.

   e-Mutation is playing an important role in providing easy and efficient
service to the land service recipients, making progress towards more
inclusion of women and persons with disabilities in land management,
implementing Sustainable Development Goals in Bangladesh and above all for
implementing the Vision 2041 adopted by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

   The award ceremony is part of the United Nations Public Service Forum, a
three-day event organised under the theme 'Innovating the Future Public
Service: New Government Models for a New Era to Reach the Sustainable
Development Goals' from December 13-15, 2021.

   The UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister
of State for Government Development and Future Ohood Bint Khalfan Al Roumi,
UN Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance
Catherine Pollard of Guyana and leaders across the world, ministers, senior
government officials, civil society representatives, academia, the private
sector and representatives from international and regional organisations and
award winners attended the ceremony.

  Earlier on June 16, 2020, the United Nations officially announced the
winners of the United Nations Public Service Award-2020.

   The Ministry of Land of Bangladesh won the prestigious 'United Nations
Public Service Award-2020' in the 'Developing Transparent and Accountable
Public Institutions' category.

   UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin
congratulated the winning countries including Bangladesh for winning the 'UN
Public Service Award-2020' on June 23, 2020 at the United Nations Public
Service Day Virtual Event.

   'United Nations Public Service Forum' and 'Public Service Awards ceremony'
were scheduled to be held in Busan, South Korea in 2020, but were postponed
by the United Nations in the wake of the global Covid-19 pandemic.

   The United Nations simultaneously organised the 2020 and 2021 United
Nations Public Service Awards ceremony in Dubai.

   The award was given for 17 initiatives of 15 countries for these two
years.