UsaNewsOnline.Com, New York : A delegation of 29 members of the National Defense College of Bangladesh visited the United Nations Headquarters and the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the United Nations 7 October. Commandant of National Defense College (NDC), Lieutenant General Md. Akbar Hossain led the delegation. The visit was held under “Overseas Study Tour-2” as part of the National Defense Course-2022. The delegation includes senior officers from Bangladesh Armed Forces and Bangladesh Civil Service, along with senior defense services officers from Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom.
In the morning, UN Deputy Military Advisor Major General Maureen O' Brien briefed the delegation at the UN headquarters. In the briefing, he highlighted various aspects of UN peacekeeping operations at the field level and UN headquarters.
After the briefing, NDC Commandant Lt. Gen. Md. Akbar Hossain held a bilateral meeting with UN Military Adviser General Birame Diop at the UN Headquarters. In the meeting, fruitful discussions were held on various issues related to cooperation between United Nations Peacekeeping Operations and Bangladesh National Defense College. The NDC Commandant also requested to take more peacekeepers from Bangladesh in UN peacekeeping operations. The United Nations Military Adviser has expressed deep grief and condemnation over the death of three Bangladeshi peacekeepers while on duty in the UN peacekeeping mission- MINUSCA in the Central African Republic. He highly praised the skill and dutifulness of Bangladeshi peacekeepers.
The NDC delegation visited the Bangladesh Permanent Mission to the United Nations in the afternoon. Ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhith, the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations, welcomed the delegation in an informal ceremony organized at the Bangabandhu Auditorium of the Mission. In his address to the visiting delegation, the Permanent Representative focused on the various activities of the Permanent Mission as well as the significant role played and contribution made by Bangladesh in the United Nations, on different issues such as peacekeeping and peacebuilding, the Rohingya crisis, the graduation from least developed countries, climate change, migration, implementation of SDG, post-Covid global system and current global situation.
In the closing remarks, NDC Commandant Lt. Gen. Akbar thanked all the members of the permanent mission, including the Permanent Representative, for their intense and fruitful participation in the work of the United Nations, including peacekeeping. The Permanent Representative also thanked the NDC Commandant and the delegation for selecting the Bangladesh Permanent Mission for a visit.
Brigadier General Md. Sadekuzzaman, Defense Advisor of the Mission, in his briefing, highlighted various aspects of Bangladesh's participation and successes in peacekeeping activities through a PowerPoint presentation.