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Prime Minister Tarique Rahman arrived New York to attend the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), with Bangladeshi expatriates and BNP leaders and activists in New York staging various programmes to welcome him.
“A Turkish Airlines flight carrying the Prime Minister, his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman and members of his entourage landed at John F Kennedy (JFK) International Airport at 6.20pm (New York time) after a stopover in Istanbul,” Prime Minister’s Deputy Press Secretary Jahidul Islam Rony told BSS.
The Prime Minister was received at the airport by Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations in New York Irene Zubaida Khan and Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States Tareq Md Ariful Islam.
A motorcade then escorted him to the Hyatt Grand Central New York, where he will stay during his visit.
BNP leaders and activists and members of the Bangladeshi expatriate community gathered outside the airport and along the roads leading to the hotel, carrying banners, posters and festoons and chanting slogans to welcome the Prime Minister.
As the Prime Minister’s motorcade passed through the streets, they waved at him, while the Prime Minister reciprocated by waving back at the enthusiastic crowd.
Jackson Heights, a major hub of the Bangladeshi community in New York, was decorated with banners, posters and festoons as the Prime Minister arrived in the city.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to deliver his address to the UNGA on September 24.
According to the programme schedule, the Prime Minister’s engagements will begin on September 22 with a welcome breakfast hosted by UN Secretary-General António Guterres for heads of state and government and their spouses at the UN Headquarters.
He will then attend the opening session of the 81st UNGA and hold a series of bilateral and courtesy meetings, including with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, World Bank Group President Ajay Banga and Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé.The Prime Minister will also meet UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Myanmar Julie Bishop, European Council President António Costa, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and Meta Platforms’ Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan.
In the evening, he and his wife will attend a reception hosted by the US President for heads of state and government and their spouses.
On September 23, the Prime Minister will attend a breakfast meeting with representatives of international charitable and humanitarian organisations at the Bangladesh Permanent Mission to the UN.
He will later join a high-level side event on the Rohingya crisis titled “The Rohingya Crisis: A Renewed Call for a Durable Solution from Protracted Displacement, with Justice and Accountability”.
He will also participate in the high-level meeting on “Climate Action and the Just Transition” at the UN Headquarters and is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.