Prime Minister Tarique Rahman arrived in New York on Monday evening local time to attend the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), where he is scheduled to deliver his maiden address to the world body as prime minister on 24 September.
A Turkish Airlines flight carrying the Prime Minister, his wife Zubaida Rahman and members of his entourage landed at John F Kennedy (JFK) International Airport at 6:20pm local time after a stopover in Istanbul, said Prime Minister’s Additional Press Secretary Atikur Rahman Rumon.
Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN Irene Khan and Ambassador to the United States Tareq Md Ariful Islam received Tarique and Zubaida at the VIP lounge of Terminal 1.
After completing airport formalities, the prime minister was taken to the Hyatt Grand Central New York in a motorcade through the airport’s Terminal 1 area.
Bangladesh UN Mission’s Deputy Permanent Representative Wahiduzzaman welcomed him at the hotel. Tarique will stay at the hotel during his visit.
A group of people carrying national flags gathered at the entrance to the hotel and chanted slogans welcoming the prime minister.
BNP leaders and activists, along with 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, the crowd waved at him, and he waved back at the enthusiastic supporters.
On the other side of the road, leaders and activists of the Awami League, which faces a ban on its activities, staged a protest.
Jackson Heights, a Bangladeshi community-dominated place in New York, was also decorated with banners, posters and festoons ahead of the prime minister’s arrival.
The prime minister is leading a 35-member delegation to the UN General Assembly.
Rumon said the prime minister will address the 81st UN General Assembly on 24 September and attend a dinner hosted by US President Donald Trump for heads of state and government taking part in the General Assembly. “He will also participate in several special discussions organised by the United Nations.”
Tarique left Dhaka early Monday on a Turkish Airlines flight, accompanied by his wife and members of his entourage. The flight made a stopover of about two and a half hours in Istanbul before continuing to New York.
Tarique’s visit comes as Bangladesh seeks to highlight its priorities on democracy, economic development, climate change, the Rohingya crisis and other international issues at the UN.
His address to the General Assembly will be his first since becoming prime minister and will also mark the third appearance at the world body by a member of his family, following his father former president Ziaur Rahman and former prime minister Khaleda Zia.
Prime Minister Tarique is scheduled to attend a series of high-level events and hold bilateral meetings with heads of state and government on the sidelines of the General Assembly.
His formal engagements are scheduled to begin on Tuesday with a welcome breakfast reception hosted by UN Secretary-General António Guterres for heads of delegation, followed by the opening session of the 81st General Assembly.
He is scheduled to meet Maldives Vice-President Uz Hussain Mohamed Latheef, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, World Bank Group President Ajay Banga and European Council President António Costa.
He is also scheduled to meet UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
In the evening, Tarique will attend a reception hosted by US President Donald Trump for heads of delegation and their spouses at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel.
On 23 September, 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”.
Tarique will also attend a high-level meeting on “Climate Action and the Just Transition” at the UN Headquarters and hold a bilateral meeting with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.
Boeing Global President Brendan Nelson is scheduled to call on the Prime Minister at his hotel, where a signing ceremony involving representatives of the Bangladesh government will also take place.
On 24 September, the prime minister will attend a high-level meeting on the existential threats posed by sea-level rise and deliver the opening remarks.
He will also hold a bilateral meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and attend a high-level event titled “From Commitment to Action: Integrating Midwifery into Primary Health Care to End Preventable Maternal and Newborn Deaths”, where he will deliver the opening remarks.
Before joining the General Debate of the 81st UNGA, Tarique will meet UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.
He is scheduled to deliver his UNGA address around 5:30pm (New York time), although the timing may change. He has been allotted 15 minutes for the speech.
After the UNGA address, the prime minister will attend a dinner hosted in his honour by Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN at the Bangladesh Permanent Mission.
On 25 September, the prime minister will attend a breakfast meeting with Wall Street representatives hosted by JP Morgan at its headquarters in Manhattan. He will also meet BNP leaders in the United States before leaving New York for Dhaka at 11pm (New York time) on Emirates flight EK202 via Dubai.
This is the PM’s first visit to New York since assuming office on 17 February. He previously visited Malaysia and China in June.
