Addresses int’l climate change conference today
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Dhaka last night on a three-day tour of Bangladesh during which he will address a climate change conference, visit an institute for UN peacekeepers and rural health clinics for women and children.
Ban is leading a 24-member delegation on the first stop of his tri-nation tour that will also take him to Thailand and Indonesia.
In Bangladesh, Ban will meet the president, the prime minister, the leader of the opposition, and ministers for finance, foreign affairs and health.
Ban will showcase the progress and leadership of these countries in the context of the “Every Woman Every Child” effort he initiated last year, according to his spokesperson.
State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury greeted the UN chief on his arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by an Emirates flight.
According to official sources, Ban will begin his programmes in Dhaka by holding a breakfast meeting today with a select diplomatic community and development partners at Sonargaon Hotel.
He will then have a meeting with Foreign Minister Dipu Moni and senior government officials.
Ban will join Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the inauguration of the Ministerial Meeting of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) at Sonargaon Hotel at 10:00am. Ministers and high officials from 26 countries most vulnerable to climate change will attend the meeting.
The UN secretary general will meet UN staffs in Dhaka at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. He will then fly to Rajendrapur in Gazipur and visit Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operation Training (BIPSOT). Ban will also meet the families of the Bangladeshi peacekeepers, who perished while on duty in different parts of the world.
From BIPSOT, Ban will arrive at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for an hour-long meeting with Sheikh Hasina. He will then visit the ICDDR,B at Mohakhali.
In the evening, BNP Chairperson and Leader of the Opposition in the Jatiya Sangsad Khaleda Zia will have a meeting with the UN secretary general at Sonargaon Hotel.
The foreign minister will host a dinner in honour of the UN chief at Hotel Ruposhi Bangla.
Tomorrow, Ban will fly to Moulavibazar district in the morning and visit Mobarakpur community clinic to see the improvement of women’s and children’s health.
At the clinic, community health workers are being trained in a government-led effort to increase the number of skilled birth attendants
With over $40 billion funding, the initiative aims to help countries work together to improve women’s and children’s health, and asks them to honour their commitments on the issue, develop a framework to ensure accountability, and work together to bring new partners.
In Moulavibazar, the UN secretary general will also visit a Brac site at Bouddhashashan village.
After his return to Dhaka, Ban will have a meeting with Finance Minister AMA Muhith and senior government officials at Sonargaon Hotel.
The same day he will deliver a speech at Dhaka University where he will be conferred an honorary doctorate degree.
The UN Chief will hold a press briefing at 5:00pm at Sonargaon Hotel, and in the evening he will speak at the Board Dinner of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI Alliance) at Hotel Ruposhi Bangla.
Ban will leave Dhaka for Bangkok by a private aircraft on Wednesday morning.
-With The Daily Star input
