PM holds several bilateral meetings on UNGA sidelines

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday had bilateral meetings with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Timor-Leste President Dr Jose Ramos-Horta and Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York.

“Issues regarding interest of Bangladesh were discussed during the meetings,” Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said in a media briefing on PM's daily engagements after the meetings at the bilateral meeting room in the United Nations Headquarters.

Momen also said Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi paid a courtesy call on Sheikh Hasina at the her place of residence in New York.

The foreign minister said during the meeting, the prime minister stressed the need for peaceful use of nuclear energy and reiterated Bangladesh's steadfast commitment to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

The premier recalled that Bangladesh ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty after she formed government for her first term.

About a bilateral meeting between foreign ministers of Bangladesh and Sierra Leone, Momen said Foreign Minister of Sierra Leone David J Francis praised Bangladesh for its unprecedented achievements in the overall development of the agricultural sector and ensuring food security.

The Bangladesh foreign minister also joined a high-level meeting of the Rohingya Contact Group of OIC and called for resource mobilization from OIC members to speed up the ongoing legal process against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Rohingyas.

In reply to a question, Momen said the Rohingya crisis is not our problem alone, rather it is a global issue.

The Bangladesh foreign minister, as well, attended a high-level meeting on deep-sea scientific research jointly organized by Bangladesh, Argentina, and the International Seabed Authority at the United Nations headquarters.