Istanbul, Sept 21 (V7N) – Prime Minister Tarique Rahman left Istanbul for New York today to attend the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), leading a high-level Bangladesh delegation.

"A Turkish Airlines flight carrying the Prime Minister, his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman and other entourage members departed from Istanbul airport at 2.10pm (Turkey time)," Prime Minister's Assistant Press Secretary KM Nazmul Haque told BSS. Earlier, the aircraft landed at Istanbul airport at 10.55am (Turkey time) after a flight of about eight hours and 45 minutes from Dhaka, with a two-hour and thirty-five-minute stopover.

The flight is scheduled to land at John F Kennedy (JFK) International Airport at 5:55pm (New York time). The Prime Minister will be received by Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations in New York Irene Zubaida Khan and Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States Tareq Md Ariful Islam at the airport. A motorcade will then escort him to the Hyatt Grand Central New York, where he will be staying during his visit.

September 22:

Welcome breakfast hosted by UN Secretary-General António Guterres for heads of state and government

Opening of the UNGA session

Reception hosted by the US President in honour of heads of state and government and their spouses

September 23:

Breakfast meeting with representatives of international charitable and humanitarian organisations

Address at a meeting on tackling the global inequality crisis, jointly organised by Brazil, South Africa, Norway and Spain

High-level meeting titled "Climate Action and the Just Transition," convened at the initiative of the UN Secretary-General

Side event on the Rohingya crisis, where he will seek effective international cooperation for the earliest possible repatriation of forcibly displaced Rohingyas to Myanmar

September 24:

Opening remarks at a high-level meeting on the existential threats posed by sea-level rise

Two important side events hosted by Bangladesh

Address on maternal and newborn health and midwifery as chief guest, highlighting the new government's initiatives for protecting maternal and child health

On the sidelines of the UNGA, the Prime Minister is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with the Crown Prince of Kuwait and the prime ministers of Croatia, Bhutan, Thailand, Pakistan and Haiti. The talks are expected to cover political and economic relations, trade and investment, development cooperation, the Rohingya crisis and other issues of mutual interest.

He is also scheduled to meet the UN Secretary-General, the President of the European Council, the President of the World Bank Group, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Myanmar, and the UN high commissioners for refugees and human rights. He is also expected to meet the President of the International Peace Institute.

As part of the government's economic diplomacy, the premier will hold meetings with senior representatives of Meta, Wall Street and several other business organisations. At the climate-related meetings, the Prime Minister will articulate Bangladesh's position as a climate-vulnerable country, with particular emphasis on climate finance, adaptation, technology transfer, loss and damage, and climate justice.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to leave New York for Dhaka from JFK International Airport at 11:00pm (New York time) by Emirates flight EK202 on September 25.

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