PM attends 30 progs, holds 11 bilateral meetings at UNGA

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman spent a busy five days in the United States attending the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, taking part in 30 programmes and holding 11 bilateral meetings during his four working days in New York.

His engagements included high-level meetings at the United Nations, bilateral talks with heads of state and government, meetings with leaders of international organisations and financial institutions, and discussions with global business leaders.

Urges Wall Street investors to explore businesses in Bangladesh

The Prime Minister held meetings with the leaders of Türkiye, Iran, Pakistan, Croatia, Haiti, Bhutan, Thailand and the Maldives. Kuwait’s Crown Prince, the UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, and the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Sweden also separately met with him.

On the final day of his visit, Friday, Tarique attended a breakfast meeting with senior Wall Street business leaders and investors at the headquarters of JPMorgan in Manhattan, where he urged them to explore investment opportunities in Bangladesh.

 Returns home this morning 

‘BANGLADESH IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS’
At the meeting at JPMorgan’s headquarters at 270 Park Avenue, the Prime Minister said Bangladesh was ready for business and investment and that his government was firmly committed to creating an investment-friendly environment.

“Our message is very clear�"Bangladesh is open for business,” he said.

Recalling his professional experience in business before entering politics, Tarique said he had learned a simple lesson: investment requires confidence, predictability and an environment conducive to growth.

Investors, he said, ultimately assess a country based on what happens after a statement is made.

He acknowledged that investors have legitimate questions about the predictability of regulations, protection of investments, efficiency in transferring capital and ease of repatriating profits.

The Prime Minister highlighted Bangladesh's market of more than 180 million people, its young and hardworking population and strategic geographical location.

He said there were significant investment opportunities in energy, infrastructure, logistics, technology, digital services, climate finance, manufacturing, agriculture and healthcare.

Tarique said the government's goal was to build a $1 trillion economy by 2034 and transform Bangladesh into a globally connected hub for manufacturing, investment and services.

Referring to JPMorgan's role in Bangladesh's first sovereign bond issuance, the Prime Minister said it had created a new reference point for international investors and opened an opportunity to connect the country's capital market more closely with the global financial system.

He called on Wall Street institutions to invest in Bangladesh and use the country as a strong platform for expanding their operations into broader regional markets.

Tarique urged investors to build businesses in Bangladesh on a long-term basis, saying the government was ready to work with them, listen to their concerns and remove obstacles wherever possible.

BILATERAL MEETINGS
During his visit, the Prime Minister met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovi?, Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Maldivian Vice President Uz Hussain Mohamed Latheef.

They exchanged views on strengthening bilateral relations, expanding trade and investment, economic cooperation and various regional and international issues.

The Prime Minister also held separate meetings with Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud and Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard.

In his meeting with Kuwait's Crown Prince on Friday morning at the Permanent Mission of Kuwait in New York, Tarique stressed the importance of further deepening the longstanding friendly relations between the two countries.

The two sides discussed increasing the export of manpower, expanding trade and investment, strengthening economic cooperation and various regional and international issues.

The Prime Minister also stressed the need for more high-level contacts between the political leadership of Bangladesh and Kuwait and greater cooperation in the economy, trade, investment, manpower and other potential sectors.

In his meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Friday afternoon at the UN Bilateral Booth, the Prime Minister discussed further strengthening the historic relations between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia.

They exchanged views on bilateral cooperation, trade and investment, manpower, development cooperation and regional and international issues of mutual interest.

MEETINGS WITH UN, GLOBAL LEADERS
Alongside his bilateral engagements, Tarique met UN Secretary-General António Guterres, World Bank President Ajay Banga, UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Myanmar Julie Bishop, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, International Peace Institute President Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein and Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman.

The meetings covered Bangladesh's economy, investment, development cooperation and the Rohingya crisis, including efforts for the repatriation of the refugees to their homeland.

Tarique arrived in New York on the afternoon of September 21 local time to attend the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. His wife, Dr Zubaida Rahman, accompanied him.