Prime Minister Tarique Rahman attended 10 of his 12 scheduled engagements on the first day of his New York visit to attend the 81st UN General Assembly, with the Rohingya crisis, regional cooperation and Bangladesh’s development featuring prominently in his discussions.

Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson and adviser Dr Mahdi Amin disclosed this at a press briefing at the Bangladesh Permanent Mission here on Tuesday evening.

The Prime Minister attended the opening and plenary session of the UN General Assembly in the morning. His wife, Dr Zubaida Rahman, was also present with the delegation.

Mahdi Amin said Tarique Rahman was representing Bangladesh at the UN after Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia.

He also noted that Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman is serving as president of the 81st UN General Assembly, describing it as a significant milestone for Bangladesh.

The Prime Minister held separate meetings with the Prime Minister of Bhutan and the Vice-President of the Maldives, discussing regional cooperation, people-to-people connectivity, tourism, education, healthcare and stronger SAARC ties.

In bilateral meetings, he met the Prime Minister of Haiti and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The meeting with the Haitian prime minister covered the country’s instability and law-and-order situation, Bangladesh’s UN peacekeeping experience and ways Haiti and the international community could benefit from it.

Mahdi Amin described the meeting with Erdogan as “constructive, cordial and friendly”.

Erdogan congratulated Tarique Rahman on his electoral victory and invited him to visit Türkiye. The two leaders discussed bilateral relations and prospects for expanding cooperation.

The Rohingya crisis was also discussed in meetings with the UN refugee agency UNHCR and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Myanmar.

The discussions focused on the safe, voluntary and dignified repatriation of more than one million Rohingyas sheltering in Bangladesh since 2017, alongside stronger global, bilateral and multilateral efforts to address the crisis.

The Prime Minister also met World Bank representatives to discuss education, healthcare, employment, investment, trade, deregulation, economic liberalisation and budgetary issues.

The meeting also covered a greater role for the World Bank in Bangladesh’s development projects and future cooperation.

Of the 12 scheduled engagements, the Prime Minister attended 10 personally, while senior-level delegations represented him at some events due to time constraints. A meeting with Meta, among them, covered the company’s large user base in Bangladesh and bilateral relations.

Mahdi Amin said the first day’s engagements prioritised Bangladesh’s and its people’s interests while highlighting the country’s position on the global stage.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs-1 Humaiun Kobir, State Minister for Foreign Affairs-2 Shama Obaed Islam, Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Abu Abdullah M Saleh (Saleh Shibli) and Additional Press Secretary Atikur Rahman Rumon were also present.