Tarique Rahman to Meet Pakistan PM on Sept 24

Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will hold a bilateral meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in New York on Thursday (24 September) on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

According to the prime minister's Press Wing, the meeting will take place from 11:30am to noon at the Secretariat Building of the UN headquarters.

Tarique is currently in New York for the UNGA, having left Dhaka today (21 September). He is scheduled to deliver his first address to the General Assembly on Thursday.

The general debate of the 81st UN General Assembly is being held from 22 to 26 September and on 28 September under the theme "Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all".

Tarique is scheduled to address the General Assembly in the afternoon at around 5:30pm New York time. He is set to be the 11th of 18 speakers in the afternoon session, which begins at 3pm.

Tarique's Thursday schedule

On Thursday morning, the prime minister is scheduled to attend a high-level meeting on addressing the existential threats posed by sea-level rise at the UN headquarters.

He will deliver a five-minute opening statement at the meeting, which is listed among the high-level events of the 81st session.

At noon, Tarique is scheduled to attend a high-level event on integrating midwifery into primary healthcare to prevent maternal and newborn deaths and is expected to deliver the opening remarks. His wife may deliver the closing remarks at the event.

He is also scheduled to meet UN Secretary-General António Guterres from 2:15pm to 2:25pm.

Before that, at 1:10pm, he is scheduled to meet Sweden's foreign minister for a brief courtesy exchange and photo session.

From 2:30pm to 3pm, he is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul at the UN bilateral booth.

Following his General Assembly speech, Tarique is scheduled to return either to Bangladesh's Permanent Mission to the UN or to the Hyatt Grand Central New York hotel, where he is staying.

He will later attend a dinner hosted by Bangladesh's permanent representative to the United Nations.

Meetings planned for Friday

On Friday (25 September), Tarique is scheduled to attend a breakfast meeting with Wall Street representatives hosted by JPMorgan at the company's Manhattan headquarters.

He will then meet Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah at the Kuwaiti Permanent Mission at 11am.

At noon, he is scheduled to have lunch with Prince Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, president of the International Peace Institute, for discussions on international developments, global trends and risks.

He is also scheduled to meet leaders of US BNP at the Grand Hyatt hotel.

Tarique is scheduled to leave New York for Dhaka at 11pm on Friday on an Emirates Airlines flight via Dubai.

He is expected to reach Dubai at 8pm local time on 26 September and depart for Dhaka at 2am on 27 September, arriving at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 8:40am Bangladesh time.

FP/R