Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is set to use his maiden address to the United Nations General Assembly to highlight the country’s renewed democratic journey and press for stronger international action on the protracted Rohingya crisis.

Rahman is expected to address the 81st UNGA session in Bangla on September 24, outlining his government’s priorities on democracy, rule of law, global peace and security, climate change, sustainable development, and economic cooperation.

Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam said the address would also focus on youth and women’s empowerment, education, healthcare, access to modern technology and reform of the multilateral system.

The Rohingya crisis is expected to feature prominently in Bangladesh’s diplomatic agenda during the visit. Rahman will attend a Bangladesh-hosted side event on September 23, where he is expected to seek stronger international cooperation for the early repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.

Speaking at a press conference in Dhaka, Siam described the Rohingya crisis as an ongoing problem and said Bangladesh would use the UN gathering to again draw global attention to its scale and the pressure it places on the country. According to BSS, he said Bangladesh would seek the international cooperation, assistance and support needed to address the crisis.

Bangladesh has consistently maintained that the safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return of Rohingyas to Myanmar remains the only lasting solution. More than one million Rohingya refugees remain in Bangladesh, most of them in overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar.

Climate change will be another major focus of the prime minister’s UN engagements. On September 23, he is scheduled to attend a high-level meeting on climate action and a just transition convened at the initiative of the UN secretary-general.

The following day, Rahman will deliver opening remarks at a high-level meeting on the threats posed by rising sea levels. Bangladesh is expected to press for greater climate finance, adaptation support, technology transfer, action on loss and damage and climate justice for vulnerable countries.

Rahman will also participate in a high-level meeting on the global inequality crisis and a Bangladesh-hosted event on maternal and newborn health and midwifery.

His diplomatic schedule is expected to extend beyond the General Assembly. The prime minister is due to hold bilateral meetings with the Crown Prince of Kuwait and the prime ministers of Croatia, Bhutan, Thailand, Pakistan and Haiti.

The meetings are expected to cover political and economic relations, trade and investment, development cooperation and the Rohingya crisis, alongside other issues of mutual interest.

Rahman is also scheduled to meet UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the president of the European Council, the president of the World Bank Group, the UN secretary-general’s special envoy on Myanmar, and the UN high commissioners for refugees and human rights.

The visit will also include an economic diplomacy component, with Rahman expected to meet senior representatives of Meta, Wall Street and other business organisations.

The prime minister is scheduled to leave Dhaka for New York on September 21 and return home on September 25 after completing his UNGA engagements.

BOB POst