At the invitation of Chief Adviser Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus, UN Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Dhaka this afternoon for a four-day official visit.
At around 4:26 p.m., Guterres was aboard an Emirates flight (EK-586) that touched down at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA).
Two small children greet Guterres with bouquets of flowers at the HSIA, where Foreign Affairs Advisor Md. Touhid Hossain greets the UN Secretary General.
The UN leader traveled from the airport to the Hotel InterContinental, where he resides.
“Honorable UN Secretary General is visiting Bangladesh as part of his Ramadan solidarity visit,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Rafiqul Alam told reporters at the ministry earlier today.
According to him, the visit is anticipated to cover a number of significant regional and international topics, including the UN’s collaboration with Bangladesh on the Rohingya issue and its remedies.
At 9:00 am on Friday, Guterres will receive a visit from Hossain, the Foreign Affairs Advisor, and Dr. Khalilur Rahman, the High Representative of the Chief Adviser on Rohingya Issue and Priority Matters.
The UN head will later meet with head Adviser Dr. Yunus at 10:00 a.m. in the Chief Adviser’s office.
After the meeting, Guterres will take a commercial flight operated by Biman Bangladesh Airlines to Cox’s Bazar, where he will visit the Rohingya camps.
Disaster Management and Relief Adviser Faruk E Azam will receive him upon his arrival at Cox’s Bazar Airport.
In Cox’s Bazar, Chief Adviser Professor Yunus will join Guterres later in the day for an Iftar with around one lakh Rohingyas.
The two leaders are expected to interact with Rohingyas, imams and community leaders during the event.
Before the Iftar, the Secretary-General will visit several facilities at the camps, including the Watch Tower, Learning Centre, Multi-purpose Service Centre, and a jute production site.
He is also likely to engage with Rohingya youth and children.
Guterres is scheduled to return to Dhaka the same evening and stay at the InterContinental Hotel.
On Saturday, the UN Secretary-General will visit the UN Common Premises in Dhaka, where he will raise the UN official flag, observe a photo exhibition marking the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh-UN relations, and attend a meeting with UN staffs.
In the afternoon, he will join a roundtable discussion on Bangladesh’s reform process at the InterContinental Hotel.
He is also expected to participate in a dialogue with youth and meet with members of civil society.
Later, Guterres is likely to address a joint media briefing alongside Foreign Affairs Adviser Hossain at the hotel.
Chief Adviser Dr Yunus will host an Iftar and dinner in honour of the UN chief on the same day.
On Sunday, Guterres will depart Dhaka at 9:55 am by an Emirates flight, with Dr Khalilur Rahman present at the airport to see him off.
The visit is anticipated to draw attention to Bangladesh’s rising diplomatic prominence as well as the urgent issues the nation faces on the international scene, such as the Rohingya crisis.
In a recent letter to Yunus, Guterres said he hoped that a high-level meeting on Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar would help develop more comprehensive solutions for their predicament and bring attention back to the world.
“The United Nations will continue to mobilize the international community to support Bangladesh as a host to the Rohingya,” Guterres said.
The UN chief said he has requested his senior managers to provide guidance to the United Nations country teams in Bangladesh and Myanmar on how they can maximize humanitarian aid and livelihood support to communities in Rakhine.
