thedaily/Thetimes758 UN Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Dhaka on Thursday on a four-day visit to Bangladesh at the invitation of Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus.
An Emirates flight (EK-586) carrying Guterres landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at 4:26pm.
Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain received the UN Secretary General at the HSIA where children welcomed Guterres with flower bouquets, reports BSS.
From the airport the UN chief proceeded to his place of residence at the Hotel InterContinental.
He said, during the visit, the UN’s cooperation with Bangladesh on the Rohingya crisis and their resolutions, as well as other global and regional important issues, are expected to be discussed.
On Friday, Foreign Affairs Adviser Hossain and High Representative of the Chief Adviser on Rohingya Issue and Priority Matters Dr Khalilur Rahman will call on Guterres at the hotel at 9:00 am.
Later, the UN chief will meet Chief Adviser Dr Yunus at the Chief Adviser’s Office at 10:00 am.
Disaster Management and Relief Adviser Faruk E Azam will receive him upon his arrival at Cox’s Bazar Airport.
In Cox’s Bazar, Chief Adviser Professor Yunus will join Guterres later in the day for an Iftar with around one lakh Rohingyas.
The two leaders are expected to interact with Rohingyas, imams and community leaders during the event.
He is also likely to engage with Rohingya youth and children.
Guterres is scheduled to return to Dhaka the same evening and stay at the InterContinental Hotel.
On Saturday, the UN Secretary-General will visit the UN Common Premises in Dhaka, where he will raise the UN official flag, observe a photo exhibition marking the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh-UN relations, and attend a meeting with UN staff.
In the afternoon, he will join a roundtable discussion on Bangladesh’s reform process at the InterContinental Hotel.
Later, Guterres is likely to address a joint media briefing alongside Foreign Affairs Adviser Hossain at the hotel.
Chief Adviser Dr Yunus will host an Iftar and dinner in honour of the UN chief on the same day.
On Sunday, Guterres will depart Dhaka at 9:55 am by an Emirates flight, with Dr Khalilur Rahman present at the airport to see him off.
The visit is expected to highlight Bangladesh’s growing diplomatic stature and the pressing challenges like Rohingya issue the country faces on the global stage.
Guterres, in a recent letter to Yunus, expressed his hope that an upcoming high-level conference on Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar will renew global focus and help develop broader solutions for their plight.
“The United Nations will continue to mobilize the international community to support Bangladesh as a host to the Rohingya,” Guterres said.
The UN chief said he has requested his senior managers to provide guidance to the United Nations country teams in Bangladesh and Myanmar on how they can maximize humanitarian aid and livelihood support to communities in Rakhine.
