Bangladesh was elected to the Executive Council of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) for the term 2023-25, garnering the most votes.
According to a communication received here, the election took place today at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris during the 32nd Assembly of the IOC.
According to a foreign ministry press release, Bangladesh’s election to this council demonstrates global awareness of Bangladesh’s initiatives, activities, and contributions to multilateral fora to preserve a safe and secure maritime regime and ocean governance in the world.
Bangladesh’s expanding involvement in marine concerns has encouraged the country to run for the IOC Executive Council, according to the statement.
Bangladesh is dedicated to contributing to the IOC’s existing urgent needs in terms of enhanced financial allocation and value addition by creating a technology-based oceanographic international ecosystem.
Bangladesh has hosted a number of maritime-related meetings in recent years.
It recently held the ninth IOCINDIO summit in Dhaka in March 2023, as well as the Indian Ocean Conference in May 2023.
As a result, the foreign ministry stated that Bangladesh’s election to the council would assist promote its marine diplomacy within the UN system, as well as secure benefits for this institution and enhance partnerships with other governments.
Bangladesh has also expressed its desire to modify the name of the IOC Sub-Committee for the Central Indian Ocean to IOCINDIO, which is expected to be accepted during the current session of the 32nd IOC Assembly.
According to the announcement, the head of the Bangladesh delegation, Rear Admiral (Retd) Khurshed Alam, expressed hope that this will be formally accepted by a resolution during the present session of the 32nd IOC Assembly.
